LOS ANGELES (CNS) — With the coronavirus surging again, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Council President Nury Martinez announced Tuesday, July 27, that all city employees will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly negative COVID-19 tests.
The announcement came one day after City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said he planned to introduce a motion on Wednesday to require vaccinations for city employees.
“The fourth wave is here, and the choice for Angelenos couldn’t be clearer — get vaccinated or get COVID-19,” Garcetti said Tuesday. “This urgent need means that if you’re a city employee, we’re now going to require you to either show that you’re vaccinated or take a weekly test.”
The policy, similar to the state’s policy, falls short of a vaccine “mandate,” offering employees the option of undergoing regular COVID testing instead of providing proof of vaccination. However, Garcetti said he and Martinez are “committed to pursuing a full vaccine mandate.”
Martinez said, “I think it’s safe to say that we’re getting tired of putting our lives on hold to protect people who don’t want to protect themselves and get vaccinated.”
The state announced on Monday that all state employees and all workers at hospitals and health care facilities across California will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination — while those who are unable or refuse to do so will have to be tested at least once a week.
The vaccine-verification program for state employees is expected to begin as early as next week. The system for health-care workers will be implemented over the coming weeks, with compliance expected by Aug. 23. It will apply to all healthcare settings across the state — public and private.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announced Tuesday afternoon that the city will follow the state’s model and require its employees to either show proof of vaccinations or weekly negative COVID-19 tests.
“Thank you to the 72% of employees who are already vaccinated,” Garcia said. “It’s important that public institutions model responsible leadership.”
He added that he hopes other cities and counties throughout California will enact similar policies, saying, “it’s time we beat this pandemic.”
San Francisco and New York City have announced similar plans.
Garcetti’s and Martinez’ announcement Tuesday comes as the Los Angeles Police Department experiences an increase in positive cases and has one employee hospitalized in critical condition. In the last week, an additional 33 LAPD employees have tested positive for the virus, bringing the department’s total to 2,760, LAPD Chief Michel Moore told the Police Commission on Tuesday.
Last week, Moore reported an increase of 19 positive cases within the department.
Eighty-one employees are home recovering, an increase of 18 from last week, Moore said.
Moore did not provide an update Tuesday on the department’s vaccination rate, but he said the department was “closely monitoring the changing landscape as to the vaccinations and the requirements.”
“We’ve had conversations with Mayor Garcetti and I understand that the mayor’s team is working with labor across the city for vaccination protocols and we’re paying close attention to that,” Moore said Tuesday morning, before Garcetti’s announcement. On June 22, Moore said that only 58% of LAPD employees have “had a full set of vaccines or have natural antibodies” from already having contracted the virus.
Ridley-Thomas said Monday that “the city of Los Angeles must lead by example” and that he would introduce a motion to have the city develop a policy to require all city employees be fully vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus.
“Plain and simple,” he added, “vaccinations are the only way out of this pandemic. They are the most effective way to prevent transmission and limit COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.
“If we want our economy to fully recover, if we want our children to be able to go to school without masks on, and if we want the most vulnerable members of our community to not end up in the hospital, we must all do our part and this motion is a step in the right direction.”
With the Delta variant of the coronavirus continuing to drive up infection rates and hospitalizations in Los Angeles County, Ridley-Thomas added, “I believe that now is the time to scale up our COVID-19 precautions.”
LA County officials reported another 2,067 infections and 15 deaths on Tuesday, while COVID hospitalizations increased to 891, an increase from 825 the previous day.
Also Tuesday, following in the footsteps of the University of California, the California State University system announced that it will also require all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to take part in any in-person classes or activities for the fall term.