The Long Beach Health Department issued an updated health order on Nov. 5 that addresses requirements for schools using modified quarantines, test requirements for mega-events and workplace protocols.
Requirements for modified quarantine at schools
Schools can provide a modified quarantine option for students who have been in close contact with someone with a case of COVID-19.
A person is considered in close contact if they have been within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative of 15 minutes or more during a 24-hour period or have been in direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids.
Under this option, students without symptoms can continue in-person learning if they are tested at least twice a week via a rapid antigen or PCR test through the school if the option is available.
If students test negative, they can be released from quarantine on day eight. The modified quarantine begins the day after their parent or guardian is notified of their exposure.
Testing requirements for attendees at mega events
Mega-events—events with crowds of 1,000 attendees indoors per day or 10,000 attendees outdoors per day—are considered high-risk environments for COVID-19 transmission.
Under the Long Beach health order, these events must require proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event start time. The City’s Nov. 5 health order clarifies that these policies apply to attendees 2 years and older.
COVID-19 protocols in the workplace
According to the City’s health order, masks are required for everyone, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status “in nearly all indoor settings, with rare exception.”
The updated health order clarifies that those engaged in performing arts, such as musical or theatre performances, may perform for an audience without a mask during their performances.
Those who remove their masks while performing must be tested twice weekly for COVID-19 unless they have proven their full vaccination status. They may also show proof of recovery from laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within the past 90 days to avoid biweekly testing.
In addition to these updates, the updated health order clarifies that masks must be worn by two or more employees traveling together by car.
Up-to-date vaccine information, including case numbers and COVID-19 resources, can be found at longbeach.gov/COVID19.
