The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 69, No. 11 - March 12, 2020
Family Fun at Nick Jr. Enrollment Party
Inglewood Unified hosted Nick Jr. Beyond the Backpack Party, an event for kindergarten-age students and their families aimed at helping them prepare for enrollment. Those who attended took photos with their favorite cartoon characters, including Dora the Explorer,
Blues Clues and Bubble Guppies, and enjoyed music and games. Thank you to all who attended! Photo Inglewood Unified School District.
LAWA from front page
LAWA Actions
Specific actions that LAWA has taken to
reduce the spread of germs include:
Implementing deep cleaning protocols
throughout LAX, focusing on “high touch”
areas like handrails, escalators, elevator buttons
and restroom doors;
Ensuring that terminal restrooms and public
areas are cleaned hourly;
Coordinating with our contracting partners to
ensure that their cleaning crews are following
the same protocols;
Sanitizing touchpads and kiosks in the
customs area hourly;
Adding 250 hand-sanitizer stations throughout
the airport, with 300 more arriving soon;
Ensuring that all Pets Unstressing Passengers
(PUPs) handlers carry hand sanitizer to share
with guests;
Distributing individual and desk-sized hand
sanitizer bottles to all LAWA administrative
offices;
Adding signage to high traffic areas within
our terminals with information on COVID-19
symptoms and how to reduce the spread of
illness;
Putting up more than 250 signs, flyers and
poster boards throughout the administrative
offices with signage from the LA County
Department of Public Health and CDC;
Providing gloves to cleaning crews;
Providing frequent updates to LAWA
employees, stakeholders and government
partners on our COVID-19 response; and
Launching external and internal websites to
share updated information on LAWA’s response
to COVID-19 and action passengers can take
to protect themselves. The new webpage on
FlyLAX.com can be found here.
LAWA continues to be in close contact with,
and following the guidance provided by, public
health experts at the CBP, CDC and LA County
Health, and is implementing all suggested
protocols. At Interim CEO Erbacci’s request,
LA County Health has designated a specific
point of contact for ongoing LAWA coordination
and real-time updates. Currently, the CDC and
County Health are not recommending personal
face masks for individuals who do not have
prolonged exposure to individuals who have
been identified as at risk. Per public health
officials, the best defense is frequent and
thorough hand washing and not touching your
face, eyes, nose or mouth.
Passenger Screening
In January, the CDC began enhanced
screening of passengers at 11 airports under
a presidential directive, including Los Angeles
International Airport. In addition to screening
identified passengers on direct flights coming
into LAX from restricted countries, CDC also
began screening passengers that were present in
restricted countries within 14 days of their arrival
at LAX. This screening builds on established
infectious disease protocols, which include
reviewing information received from pilots,
flight attendants, or crew who are trained to
spot and report symptoms. This also provides
an opportunity to educate passengers on steps
they should take if they do develop symptoms.
LAWA is working with CBP and CDC
to ensure that screening happens away from
major public areas and that any passenger
identified as at-risk or given quarantine orders
is held in isolation while awaiting transport to
a medical facility or quarantine location. So
far, eight passengers at LAX have been given
quarantine orders, with the most recent case
more than a week ago.
In terms of confirmed cases of novel
coronavirus, LAWA does not have information
on travelers who may have been exposed to
or confirmed to have it. That information is
with the CDC and County Health.
Budgetary Impact
While the detailed, full impact the coronavirus
has had on LAWA’s and its partners’ revenue
streams has not been determined, out of an
abundance of caution the agency is starting to
take steps to reduce costs where appropriate.
So far in March, flights are down 3.9% and
revenue taken in by our concessions is down
as well. Yesterday, TSA reported to LAWA
that passenger screening numbers were down
20% year over year. We are keeping a close
eye on these numbers and planning ahead
internally to reduce expenses. Some immediate
cost reduction measures put in place include:
Not approving any new hiring requests, except
for specific critical and predesignated positions;
Deferring any new, non-essential discretionary
spending such as non-essential trainings and
attendance at conferences;
Only approving new contracts and task orders
that are essential to key capital projects and
critical tasks;
Limiting overtime to those activities that
are necessary for safety, critical operations,
or emergency management; and
Asking every business unit to identify ways
to reduce expenditures that are not critical or
can be delayed.
LAWA will continue to closely monitor flights
and revenue and continue to take appropriate
and fiscally responsible actions as needed.
Individual Actions
Additionally, heath agencies recommend
personal hygiene and frequent hand washing as
the best way to prevent illness. This information
has been shared widely with airport employees
and with the traveling public. Recommendations
include:
Wash your hands frequently and for at least
20 seconds using soap and water;
If soap and water are not available, use a
hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content;
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue
when you cough or sneeze, then throw the
tissue in the trash and wash your hands;
Avoid unnecessary contact with others
(handshakes, fist bumps, hugs, etc.);
Avoid contact with people who are sick;
Stay home when sick;
Avoid touching your eyes, ears, nose or
mouth with unwashed hands; and
While not protective against COVID-19, public
health officials also recommend the influenza
vaccine. It’s not too late to get an influenza
vaccine, since flu season can last into spring.
As new information and recommendations
become available from federal partners and
health officials, LAWA will share it on its
public-facing website, FlyLAX.com, as well
as on social media channels. •