Los Angeles County will withdraw its mission to wear indoor masks on Friday as missions have been relaxed in California and the United States.
Barbara Ferrer, director of public health at Los Angeles County, said on Tuesday that the county was ready to issue a revised health order on Thursday, which came into effect on Friday and withdrew its indoor mask obligations.
Starting Tuesday, California lifted the requirement for unvaccinated people to wear masks in most indoor environments. I joined the vaccinated people whose mission was lifted two weeks ago. However, face coverings are still highly recommended indoors. Masks are still needed for everyone in indoor environments such as healthcare facilities, transit centers, airports, public transport, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and long-term care facilities.
Prior to Tuesday, Los Angeles County continued to impose obligations on everyone in most places to wear indoor masks-a rule that has been increasingly criticized by two members of the county’s supervisory board. The county recently relaxed that requirement, allowing vaccinated people to remove their masks indoors. In indoor locations, all patrons are checked for either COVID vaccination or recent negative tests.
According to the County Public Health Service, authorities “will review additional state guidance changes and provide up-to-date information on additional changes to LA County safety measures during the (Tuesday) Supervisory Board meeting.”
There is increasing promotion by two county supervisors calling for the end of the county’s masking obligations. Both supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn have stated that the county should be in perfect agreement with the state to avoid confusion and frustration among the inhabitants.
Berger welcomed the state’s announcement on Monday that it was easing masking rules and again called for the end of the county’s requirements.
On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a new standard that relies heavily on COVID hospital numbers to control whether or not to wear a mask. Although these new standards have resulted in the removal of mask recommendations in most parts of the country, the counties of Los Angeles and San Diego still classify them as having “high” viral activity and wear masks to people. I urged you to continue.
In the new CDC guidance, both Orange County and Riverside County fall into the medium category. Federal guidance does not require wearing a mask.
Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, previously stated that the county’s rules for wearing indoor masks are valid until the following criteria are met:
- The county’s level of COVID infection dropped to moderate levels as defined by the CDC for 2 weeks, or
- The COVID vaccine is available to residents under the age of 5 for at least 8 weeks.
- A “variant of concern” for the new COVID has not been identified and may cause another surge in some cases.
On February 16, Los Angeles County lifted the obligation to use outdoor masks for large event venues, schools, and child care centers.
The state announced on Monday that its obligation to wear indoor masks on school campuses will expire at 11:59 pm on March 11. Health officials in Los Angeles County have announced that they will work with the state to lift the local school mask obligations that day.
However, it is still unclear whether the Los Angeles Unified School District will cancel the mission on that schedule. LAUSD issued a statement late Monday stating that the district would only monitor the COVID rate. However, the district did not promise to release Mask’s mission on March 12.
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