As the coronavirus continues its relentless spread throughout Los Angeles County, some areas have been hit harder than others and it’s prompting new efforts to warn residents.
L.A. Councilman Gil Cedillo is having 100 bright red sidewalk signs warning of high COVID-19 risk placed in Westlake, Pico Union, Highland Park and Lincoln Heights, officials said in a news release Wednesday.
The signs issue the warnings in English, Spanish, Korean and Chinese.
Cedillo says his district has been severely impacted as coronavirus infections and deaths mount, with Westlake the hardest hit. The region, the First Council District, has had 43,635 coronavirus cases and 817 deaths, according to city officials.
“It is critical to make people aware of the dangers that still exist during the pandemic. There’s no value in soft-selling the conditions. Particularly in parts of my district with challenges of poverty, immigration status and density,” Cedillo said in a statement. “Because of that, we think it’s important to let people know, what are the dangers and conditions that we’re living in so that they will do the things that are necessary.”
L.A. County health officials have long warned of race and income-based disparities in whose been increasingly contracting and dying of COVID-19 in the region.
The councilman says the signs are meant to inform residents of how to protect themselves from the virus by wearing masks, distancing, washing their hands, self-quarantining, getting tested and getting vaccinated.
“We must not relax, recognize that the pandemic is still dangerous and that we can’t take it lightly,” Cedillo said.