LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Hair salons and barbershops will be allowed to reopen for limited indoor service in Los Angeles County, with the county announcing Wednesday it will bring those businesses in line with recently amended state coronavirus reopening guidelines.

On Wednesday, County Supervisor Hilda Solis announced that hair salons and barbershops will be allowed to resume indoor service, with capacity limited to 25 percent. She said the county would review possible increases in capacity after Labor Day. 

Supervisor Janice Hahn told KNX Newsradio that the county is still not authorizing the reopening of indoor shopping malls. The state's revised guidelines released Friday authorized indoor shopping malls to reopen at 25 percent capacity, but it is up to individual counties to approve the reopenings and Los Angeles has not yet revised its mandates.

Malls in some other counties, including Orange County, began reopening Monday, when the state's new guidelines took effect.

County health officials are also allowing K-6 schools to be reopened beginning Sept. 12 in a strictly limited capacity. Small groups of children will be allowed to engage in in-person education, but the details were not immediately made explicit.

Solis urged residents to continue to be diligent in following the prescribed guidelines over Labor Day weekend to prevent a resurgence of the virus.

The Department of Public Health has been trying to promote that message for several days, particularly with hot weather expected over the long holiday weekend.

The Fourth of July and Memorial Day holiday weekends both resulted in dramatic spikes in coronavirus cases in the county.

In a statement Tuesday, the county Department of Public Health warned again that "it is important not to gather with people who aren't part of your household as it puts you at risk for COVID-19."

The county released a list of activities that are banned by the Health Officer Orders, "even if they feel safe." Those activities include baby showers, gender-reveal parties, backyard barbecues for Labor Day, student study groups, Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur dinners and "gathering at the beach with friends over the hot weekend."

There has been no indication that the county might opt to close beaches to prevent large gatherings.

Health official fear that the holiday weekend could reverse a downward trend in coronavirus deaths, new cases and hospitalizations.

"We could easily be knocked off that path to recovery if we see a surge (in new cases)," Solis said. 

County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis announced another 51 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, raising the overall total since the start of the pandemic to 5,878. More than half (51 percent) of those deaths have been Latinx.

Davis said that 22 of Wednesday's fatalities were people over the age of 80. Strikingly, two of the deaths were people between the ages of 18 and 29 who had no underlying health conditions.

Meanwhile, there were 1,457 new cases announced, bringing the cumulative figure to 243,935 cases in the county, not including Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own health departments separate from the county.

Davis said that more than 2.3 million people have been tested countywide, with 10 percent testing positive.

He also said there have been 1,589 cases involving people experiencing homelessness.

According to the county, the seven-day average daily number of new cases has dropped to 1,300, continuing a steady decline. Health officials have been reporting downward trends in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations -- with 1,048 people hospitalized with the virus as of Wednesday.

Los Angeles County is also gearing up for the coming flu season, with public health director Barbara Ferrer saying residents should get vaccinated, especially given the continuing threat of COVID-19.

"We are positive that we will have both influenza and COVID-19 circulating at the same time," she told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. "While we don't have a vaccination for COVID-19 at this time, we do have a vaccination for influenza."

Solis also warned about the danger that flu season posed this year, saying the flu could exacerbate coronavirus symptoms, so getting a vaccination for it "is more important now than ever."

She said the county will host vaccine clinics and open pop-up sites to provide vaccinations in underserved communities.

Immunization is recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months. Vaccines are already available at some doctors' offices, clinics and pharmacies, and Ferrer said the county should have its own stocks available next week.

If enough residents get vaccinated, it will help decrease the stress on the county's health care system as it works to support patients fighting either COVID-19 or influenza, which have similar symptoms, Ferrer told the board.