Los Angeles County soon will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test to enter Dodger and SoFi stadiums as well as Major League Soccer venues for events with more than 10,000 people.
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer confirmed Friday that those venues, as well as any outdoor setting where there are more than 10,000 attendees, would be subject to the new, stricter vaccine-or-test requirements that will be imposed beginning next month.
Starting Oct. 7 at 11:59 p.m., guests age 12 and over will need to show either proof of vaccination or a negative result from a diagnostic test taken less than 72 hours before the event.
Ferrer said the vaccine-or-test requirement will apply to venues such as stadiums, arenas and theme parks. It wouldn’t come into play in less-regimented settings where people are constantly coming and going, such as a street fair, Ferrer said.
Both L.A. County and the state already require indoor events with more than 1,000 people — which includes venues such as Staples Center — to ask guests for proof of full vaccination or a recent negative result. Starting Monday, the state no longer will allow those in attendance to simply state they are vaccinated or have recently tested negative; they must instead provide written proof.
The new L.A. County health order, published Friday night, also stipulates that proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges. A recent negative coronavirus test cannot be used to enter. Customers and employees will need to have at least one vaccine dose by Oct. 7 and be fully vaccinated by Nov. 4.
Customers who don’t provide proof of vaccination can still be served in outdoor portions of the facility, where the risk of transmission is lower because better ventilation dissipates any viral particles exhaled by those who are contagious.
L.A. County’s order does not apply in Pasadena, which has its own independent public health department, and where officials were waiting to review L.A. County’s order before determining “how we’ll move forward,” city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. The only other city in L.A. County with its own separate public health department, Long Beach, will align with L.A. County’s new order.
There were still some questions about how the rules would apply to L.A. County’s major theme parks — Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood. Ferrer said the vaccination-or-test rules would apply at parks with over 10,000 visitors.
It was not immediately clear, though, whether the 10,000 figure refers to the total number of people who will enter the theme park during the course of a full day or whether the venues will be required to actively monitor attendance and screen only when they expect 10,000 or more people to attend at a given time.
“If, for example, Magic Mountain says, ‘On average, most days we don’t even sell 10,000 tickets,’ then it won’t apply on a regular basis,” Ferrer told reporters during a briefing Friday afternoon. “If they hold a special event, like a Halloween event, and they’re going to have 10,000 people or more…
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