HOLLYWOOD HILLS— On Wednesday, August 5, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he will authorize to cut off utility service to properties that host large gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Starting on Friday night, if LAPD responds and verifies that a large gathering is occurring at a property, and we see these properties offending time and time again, they will provide notice and initiate the process to request that DWP shut off service within the next 48 hours,” said Mayor Garcetti.
He added that this is targeting those “determined to break the rules, posing significant public dangers and a threat to all of us.”
On Tuesday, August 4, L.A. County health officials issued a “legally binding” order banning gatherings during the pandemic.
The L.A. County Department of Public Health said that violating the health officer order prohibiting parties and other large gatherings is “a crime punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both.”
Within the past week, there have been house parties in Hollywood Hills, Calabasas, and Beverly Crest. In Beverly Crest, on Mulholland Drive, one person was fatally shot and two others were injured.
“These super-spreader events, and super-spreader people have a disproportionate impact on the lives we are losing and we cannot let that happen like we saw on Mulholland Drive on Monday night,” said Garcetti.
On Wednesday evening after Garcetti’s announcement, hundreds were gathered at a residence in Holmby Hills. Many of the individuals did not have on masks and were not practicing physical distancing.
Los Angeles County has had 4,825 deaths and 198,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
