The city of Los Alamitos, along with the rest of the state, begins a soft reopening soon, but the mayor says the city will adhere to all state and local guidelines.
“The people have had enough,” said Mayor Richard D. Murphy on Tuesday, acknowledging that city leaders are under some pressure to reopen the city from a frustrated public.
Most of the pressure, said Murphy, appears to be coming from businesses and individuals involved in the Phase III of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s reopening plan.
“The hairdressers, barbers, nail salons; people that come into closest contact with other people say they need to get back to work,” said Murphy.
Nevertheless, he said the city has no authority to violate the governor’s executive order, which he said is considered a law. He said the city must, and will, adhere to state and county guidelines during its reopening.
“We don’t want to be in violation of state law,” said Murphy, noting that businesses who are included in Phase III who prematurely try to open in Los Alamitos will be visited by police and asked to comply.
“As much as we understand their concerns, we have to stay in compliance,” he said.
Meanwhile, deaths in Orange County are spiking amid a case count that continues to rise, especially in Los Alamitos.
The city did not appear on the OC list until three weeks ago and, as of Tuesday, 31 cases have already been reported.
Cypress is reporting 44 cases and La Palma remains at 14.
Murphy said city emergency response officials believe the spike is related to a COVID-19 outbreak in a local nursing home, where staff and patients have been affected.