County health officials say more people gathering in groups of 10 or more frequently
By Sam Catanzaro
With COVID-19 cases increasing again in Los Angeles, officials in the Brentwood-area have been attempting to tackle the problem of large gatherings and house parties.
“Large gatherings/party houses continue to be a problem, but we have had great success since we implemented a more effective strategy approximately two months ago,” wrote Captain Jonathan Tom of the Los Angeles Police Department West Bureau in a recent community letter.
According to Captain Tom, the LAPD now have dedicated resources on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to respond to radio calls for large gathering and house parties.
“While we do cite for loud music, the most effective tool we have had is the threat of the Mayor’s Office disconnecting Department of Water and Power (DWP) services from locations that have received two Notices of Violation of the Mayor’s Safer LA Order,” Tom said.
The West Bureau has made two referrals to the Mayor’s Office for DWP disconnection resulting in one disconnection and one pending approval, Tom said.
According to the LAPD, if you have concerns about large gatherings or loud music emanating from one of these large gatherings, call (877) ASK LAPD or (877) 275-5273.
“Please be patient when you call as I have heard that there can be very extensive hold times. Understand that in a city of 4 million people, our operators answer thousands of calls a day. When you do get to speak to an operator, be very descriptive when you describe the nature of the call and ask for an incident number so we can refer to it at a later date or time,” Tom said.
According to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, as cases increase in the County, survey respondents have also indicated increases in close contact between residents from different households and gatherings.
“Since April there has been a 57% increase in people reporting close contact with people they don’t live with. More than 10% of respondents reported they had been at a gathering of more than 10 people in the last 7 days,” Public Health said on November 2.
