Anti-lockdown protesters on Monday night gathered outside the home of Los Angeles County Health Director Barbara Ferrer and shined strobe lights, as the county’s numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths continue spiking.
A video of the incident was posted on social media by Twitter user Fifty Shades of Whey with a caption that read, “COVID-deniers in Los Angeles shine strobe lights onto the home of LA County’s Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer.”
As the video begins, the person filming can be heard saying “I like the light show that’s going on. This is something new with the patriots and these flashlights.
“They’re definitely adopting the Antifa model. The difference is they’re not shining the lights in the police officer’s eyes,” the person filming added, as a number of protesters can be seen standing outside Ferrer’s home.
The protests outside the health director’s home came as coronavirus cases and deaths have continued to increase in Los Angeles County and California as a whole.
On Tuesday, county health officials reported 86 new COVID-19 deaths, the highest single-day record since the summer’s surge. The county also reported at least 11,194 new coronavirus cases, which was more than several other states saw on Tuesday.
Vehicles line up to enter a coronavirus testing site at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium on December 7, the first day of new stay-at-home orders. Mario Tama/Getty
Additionally, data from the county’s health department shows at least 4,403 COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 21 percent of these patients in intensive care units (ICU).
Across Southern California, data from the state health department shows the region’s ICU capacity at 1.7 percent. State health officials earlier placed the region under the state’s regional stay-at-home order after it fell below the 15 percent ICU capacity threshold.
Under that order for Southern California, a number of businesses and recreational facilities in Los Angeles County were forced to close down in an effort to mitigate the virus’s spread.
This is not the first time protesters have gathered outside Ferrer’s home. Two similar gatherings occurred in November and early December.
Roughly 50 protesters were outside her home on November 30 to protest the tightened restrictions on capacity limits for businesses and limits on social gatherings, according to KCBS-TV. On December 4, about 20 people did the same.
“I think, again, people everywhere have the right to protest and have the right to express themselves when they’re unhappy,” Ferrer said after the first protest, according to KCBS. “I think, unfortunately, that can be upsetting, but that is their right, and I’m assuming that people will continue to exercise their rights. That’s just where we are right now.”
Newsweek reached out to the Los Angeles County Health Department for comment from Ferrer but did not receive a response in time for publication.
