Woodkirk Stone
West Covina is responding to the winter coronavirus outbreak by placing restrictions on how business is conducted at Town Hall.
The Town Hall remains open, but now those who wish to visit in person must register with staff and check in the basement (lower level near the parking lot).
In addition, wearing a mask is mandatory at all times in the building and the Planning, Building and Engineering divisions as well as the Fire Department all require appointments which can be made on the City’s website.
“We are adapting to respond to peaks,” City Manager David Carmany said via email.
These guidelines are accompanied by a friendly message from the city manager’s office: People with symptoms of COVID-19 should avoid City Hall.
The city also added additional COVID-19 testing sites on Monday, at Shadow Oak Park (located at 2121 Shadow Oak Dr.) and City Hall. Testing at Shadow Oak begins Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Services available include PCR, rapid antibody and antigen testing. PCR and Antibody testing are free (through insurance or government program), Antigen testing is available at an additional cost.
Information on testing at city hall is pending, Deputy Director General Roxanne Lerma said late Monday afternoon.
Los Angeles County set a new daily record with 45,584 positive COVID-19 tests on Sunday, continuing the winter spike in transmission driven by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Health officials on Friday reported a record 43,712 new infections, and on Saturday they said the county had seen more than 200,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past seven days, the highest number in a week since the start of the pandemic.
Authorities are urging residents to reconsider their participation in high-risk activities, including indoor activities where individuals are unmasked for long periods of time and crowded outdoor events.