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LA County on pace for new COVID indoor mask mandate by end of July BY CITY NEWS SERVICE
W
ith COVID-19 hospitalizations continuing to rise, Los Angeles County is on pace to reach the “high” virus activity level by next week, which could equate to another universal indoor mask-wearing mandate by the end of the month, the public health director said Thursday. The county is currently in the “medium” virus activity level, as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It will reach the “high” category if the seven-day average of new COVID-related hospital admissions reaches 10 per 100,000 residents.
“ If the county remains at that high level for two consecutive weeks, it will reimpose a mandatory indoor mask-wearing mandate...on July 29.” As of last Thursday, the county’s admission rate was 8.4 per 100,000 residents. But given the rate of increase over the past two weeks, the county is on pace to reach 10 per
As a result of an increase in county covid cases, expect to see mask mandates return to stores. | Photo courtesy of LA County Department of Public Health
100,000 residents by next Thursday, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in an online briefing. She stressed that the estimate is only a projection that could change
dramatically based on admission numbers in the coming days. If the county remains at that high level for two consecutive weeks, it will re-impose a manda-
tory indoor mask-wearing mandate. Under the current schedule, that would happen on July 29. “We don’t have the luxury of doing nothing,” Ferrer said, pointing to the
high level of virus spread in the county — increasingly fueled by the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the virus — and rising hospitalization numbers. “... What makes the
most sense is to remain committed to protecting one another,” she said. Ferrer clarified on Thursday that the hospital admission rate being relied upon by the county in determining the “high” community level differs from the one being reported weekly by the CDC. She said the CDC figure relating to hospital admission rates actually combines Los Angeles and Orange counties, and Orange County has a substantially higher admission rate than Los Angeles. Los Angeles County will be relying on its separate local rate when determining when the two-week clock will be ticking on a universal indoor maskwearing mandate. Ferrer noted that the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the COVID are now responsible for nearly 40% of all specially sequenced cases — roughly two-anda-half times higher than two weeks ago. Nationally, the CDC estimates those two variants are responsible for about 70% of sequenced cases. The number of new cases announced by the county each day is believed to be an undercount due to the prevalence of takehome COVID tests, the results of which are not always reported to the county.