“The clock is stopped right now,” LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a press briefing, noting a “pretty steady decline in cases since July 23.”
Since the CDC’s latest hospitalization numbers for the county only covered the seven-day period ending July 25, Ferrer said the county had its own numbers, which covered the seven days ending July 27. These figures showed a decrease in both the hospital admission rate and the percentage of beds used by Covid-19 positive patients. If these trends are confirmed and continued, Ferrer said, it could move the county from the CDC’s high transmission level to the medium level.
“We’re pretty confident that we should be in this average community next Thursday,” Ferrer said. “But if things change, we will reverse that decision, obviously.”
Ferrer had begun telegraphing the possibility of suspending the mask requirement both at last week’s press conference and at Tuesday’s supervisory board meeting.
She told reporters Thursday that she heard from many people on both sides of the debate, but insisted her decision was based on the data. “It would be kind of ridiculous to go ahead tomorrow and implement universal indoor masking if I know that in a few days we will be back in the middle,” she said.
Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health at UC Irvine, said Ferrer was in a difficult position. “In some ways, strong recommendations are better than mandates,” said Noymer, who supported the indoor masking requirement. “If you cancel a warrant and no one does, your warrant becomes a joke. What does this mean for you in the future?
The potential return to masking has faced strong opposition from many business owners, lawmakers and residents who have cited Covid vaccinations and treatments that have kept hospitals from being overrun as a sign that the pandemic has evolved. People have grown weary of the kinds of restrictions imposed at the start of the public health crisis, regardless of rising cases and positivity rates.
These discrepancies have recently been exposed among county supervisors. LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger called the mask mandates ‘polarizing’ and ‘unenforceable’ in an open letter, while Supervisor Sheila Kuehl referred to those who find the masking oppressive as “snowflake weepers”.
Long Beach and Pasadena, towns in the county that run their own health departments, had said they would adhere to state guidelines recommending masks rather than following LA County rules. Some cities, including Beverly Hills and El Segundo, had vowed not to enforce a warrant if it was imposed by the county.
While many parts of the state and country have high levels of community transmission, Los Angeles County remained an exception in its plan to review its mask mandate.
On a smaller scale, some universities, including UCLA and UC Irvine, have reimposed indoor mask mandates. The San Diego Unified School District brought back its indoor mask mandate on July 18, at least for the remainder of the summer term.
Alameda County is the only major jurisdiction in California to have reinstated indoor face covering requirements after lifting the rules earlier this year. Alameda County Public Health Director Nicholas Moss took action in June, even though neighboring counties, including San Francisco and Santa Clara, had higher case rates. It was discontinued for three weeks due to improving case rates.
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