City to cut power, water to hosts of huge pandemic house parties, Los Angeles warns

Don Sweeney
·2 min read

Hosts of giant pandemic house parties now risk having their power and water shut off as Los Angeles battles the spread of coronavirus, city officials say.

“This is life and death,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday, KNBC reported.

Starting Aug. 7, Los Angeles police will work with the city Department of Power and Water to shut off utilities to properties found hosting private parties within 48 hours, according to NPR. The measure will target repeat offenders.

Large gatherings of any kind are banned in Los Angeles as the city fights to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the network reported.

“Don’t host large parties and don’t attend a party if you’re invited,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, public health director of Los Angeles County, KABC reported. “It isn’t worth the risk you run, and it certainly isn’t worth the risk you’re creating for our collective recovery journey.”

With bars and other venues in the city closed, Garcetti said private parties have “essentially become nightclubs in the hills,” the Los Angeles Times reported. They’re often held at rental homes or vacant properties.

A woman died and two others were hurt early Tuesday in a shooting at a huge house party in the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, KCBS reported.

“The consequences of these large parties ripple far beyond just those parties,” Garcetti said, the Los Angeles Times reported . “They ripple throughout our entire community because the virus can quickly and easily spread.”

Los Angeles County has more total coronavirus cases than any other county in the United States, with more than 198,000 confirmed cases as of Aug. 6, according to Johns Hopkins University.

More than 18.8 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 708,000 deaths as of Aug. 6, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 4.8 million confirmed cases with more than 158,000 deaths.

The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. In the United States, President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.