Unions for frontline workers call for 4-week shutdown in LA County in January amid COVID-19 surge By Mary Stringini Unions call for L.A. County shutdown to save lives LOS ANGELES - The pandemic has been tough on everyone — but especially those who are on the frontlines, unable to stay safely at home as COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations have reached record-high volumes in Los Angeles County. Desperate for the county to get the virus under control, unions representing nurses, healthcare, teachers, grocery store and hotel employees are demanding that the LA County Board of Supervisors urgently enact a 'circuit breaker' — a strict 4-week lockdown in January, to ultimately save lives and allow the economy and schools to reopen faster.