A throng of angry protesters descended on the home of Los Angeles County’s public health director ahead of new COVID-19 restrictions, slamming her as “satanic” for banning gatherings of mixed households.
Roughly 50 demonstrators outside the Echo Park residence of Los Angeles County public health director Barbara Ferrer on Sunday voiced their disgust with the three-week “safer at home” order that takes effect Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Few of the protesters targeting Ferrer, who unveiled the new measures Friday affecting the nation’s most populous county, had masks on as they called on her to “open LA,” the newspaper reported.
The demonstrators also chanted “No science, no data, no shutdown” but remained peaceful until the crowds broke up at about 5:30 p.m., the newspaper reported.
“She has no right to shut us in!” one woman yelled into a megaphone, video shows. “Yeah, sitting up in her pedestal, you’re so satanic, you’re so sad … do not influence your communism on us. It’s disgusting, it’s disgusting!”
Ferrer’s new health order, which runs through Dec. 20, bans all public and private gatherings with people not in the same household except for faith-based services and protests. It also advises people to stay home as much as possible and to wear a face mask whenever outside.
Essential retail stores, meanwhile, can stay open at 35% capacity, while outdoor fitness centers, museums, galleries and zoos can operate at 50% full. Schools and day camps can remain open, however, except for those with three or more COVID-19 infections in a two-week span.
“We know we are asking a lot from so many who have been sacrificing for months on end,” Ferrer said Friday while announcing the additional safety measures. “Acting with collective urgency right now is essential if we want to put a stop to this surge.”
One protester on Sunday also took aim at Gov. Gavin Newsom, claiming he and Ferrer were “non-essential” over his recent statewide curfew banning nonessential gatherings with people from other households between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., restrictions that angered many business owners, the newspaper reported.
“How dare you take away our guns and lock us in?” one protester shouted.
Some at the protest also got into testy exchanges with Ferrer’s neighbors, including one who called the demonstrators “fascists” and “Nazis,” according to the report.
LAPD monitored the demonstration, but department officials could not be reached for comment late Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
With Post wires