LA card rooms ordered to close due to Covid-19 spike

The county-ordered closure will be in place until at least December 20.

US.- Card rooms in Los Angeles have been ordered to close their doors for the third time this year after an increase in Covid-19 cases.

Properties closed yesterday (Monday November 30) and will not be permitted to reopen until at least December 20.

The closures are part of the county’s “Safer at Home” plan, which bans gatherings between individuals who are not part of the same household.

There are seven card rooms in LA. They collectively employ over 10,000 people, some of whom are expected to be furloughed during the current period of closure.

The county’s public health director, Barbara Ferrer, said: “We know we are asking a lot from so many who have been sacrificing for months on end, and we hope that L.A. County residents continue following Public Health safety measures that we know can slow the spread.

“Acting with collective urgency right now is essential if we want to put a stop to this surge.”

Card rooms were first ordered to close in mid-March. They briefly resumed operations in June at 50 per cent capacity but were shut again a few weeks later before being allowed to reopen outdoors in late September.

During their previous period of closure, the cardrooms asked for tribal casinos to also be closed, arguing, “if we are all in this together, then we’re all in this together.”