Los Angeles County warns residents of possible curfew and 3-week stay-at-home order.

Los Angeles County officials have tightened COVID-19 restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving — and have warned residents that if the spread isn't controlled quickly, the county may be imposing a curfew and a 3-week stay-at-home order. Restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars and non-essential retailers will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Individuals will also face tighter regulations. Beginning on Friday, a maximum of 15 people from a total of three different households will be permitted to gather, officials said, and all gatherings must continue to be outdoors. The heightened measures come just one day after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state is hitting the emergency brake on economic activity due to surging COVID-19 cases.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted Tuesday that Los Angeles is in a very dangerous situation. The U.S. is breaking new infection records every day and averaging more than one COVID-19 death every minute, Garcetti said. I am calling on every Angeleno to take action to save lives and stop the spread of this virus.

The county said it expects cases to continue to surge, and officials said they plan to further tighten regulations if necessary. If the five-day average of COVID-19 cases hits 4,000 or more, or hospitalizations increase to more than 1,750 a day, the county will shut down all outdoor and indoor dining.

If the five-day average of COVID-19 cases hits 4,500 or more, or hospitalizations increase to more than 2,000 per day, the county will institute a 3-week Safer at Home Order, which will only permit essential workers and those seeking essential services to leave their homes. The order would also mandate a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., exempting only essential workers.

On Tuesday, the county reported 2,301 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the county total to date past 344,500. There were 1,126 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in the county as of Tuesday. The weekly average of daily COVID-19 cases was 1,171 on November 1, and by November 14, it had more than doubled to 2,406, according to county data.