Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, reinstated its regulations on wearing masks indoors late on Saturday night, as more than 1,800 new COVID-19 cases were reported in one day and the number of hospitalizations in the area continued to increase.
The new regulations came into effect at 11:59 pm, requiring everyone to wear masks in indoor public places, regardless of vaccination status. According to the county’s public health department, the order was the result of an increase in the spread of the rapidly spreading Delta variant.
The public health department said on Twitter on Saturday: “Due to the increased spread of Delta variants and the mixing of people without masks whose vaccination status is unknown, starting at 11:59 tonight, regardless of the vaccination status, indoors All need to wear a mask.”
Due to the increase in the spread of Delta variants and the mixture of individuals who do not wear masks with unknown vaccination status, starting from 11:59 tonight, regardless of the vaccination status, it is necessary to wear masks indoors. pic.twitter.com/991TrwKKbs
-Los Angeles Public Health (@lapublichealth) July 17, 2021
On Saturday alone, the county reported 1,827 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths. According to the county’s health department, this number is a four-fold increase from the number of cases reported on July 4 two weeks ago, and an eight-fold increase from the number of cases reported on June 15. The daily positive rate was 3.7%, compared with 0.5% a month ago.
According to KABCIn Los Angeles County, the number of people hospitalized due to COVID jumped from 462 on Friday to 507 on Saturday, while the number of intensive care patients remained at 103.
By Sunday, Los Angeles County had reported more than 1.2 million COVID-19 positive cases, and a total of 24,579 people had died since the pandemic began.
The county’s health department said Saturday that about 4 million people in Los Angeles have not been vaccinated. As of July 11, more than 10.7 million doses of vaccine have been vaccinated, and 61% of residents 16 years of age and older have been vaccinated.
Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images
According to a statement from the department, all indoor public places, places, parties, offices, retail, restaurants and theaters will now need to wear masks.
“Although we continue to work hard to increase vaccination coverage and build confidence in vaccines, the simplest and most effective public health measure is to require everyone to wear masks in all indoor public places and businesses,” Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara La Ferrell said in a statement.
“For those of us who have already been vaccinated, we have been asked to continue to wear masks in many other public places in the past few months, including all public transportation, all medical institutions, schools and day care facilities. This is done as a recognition statement. He added: “Although the vaccine is very effective, it is not perfect. We continue to have an obligation to reduce the risk as much as possible. Please wear a mask indoors to help us slow down the spread again. “
However, the new mask regulations have sparked criticism from some people who believe that it is unnecessary for people who are vaccinated to wear masks indoors.
Los Angeles County Supervisor and Republican Kathryn Barger (Kathryn Barger) said that deviation from state and federal mask guidelines may eventually lead to confusion and mistrust among the people.
“By deviating from the country, we create chaos and divisions at the local level, which hinder public trust and deprive us of our main information. Considering the spread of Delta variants, we should encourage individuals to be vaccinated urgently,” Bagh said. KABC.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Friday that the new mission “There is no scientific basis,” And his office will not enforce the new rules.
“There is no scientific basis for forced vaccination and people who have been infected with COVID-19 to wear masks indoors. This is in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines,” he said.
Others are more supportive of this task, stressing that the requirement for masks should not be seen as another kind of lockdown, but as a preventive measure when the number of cases continues to surge.
Democratic County Supervisor Hilda Solis said on Saturday: “I want to emphasize that this indoor mask requirement has not prevented us from enjoying all the wonderful activities brought about by the county’s reopening.” “We can still go out. Do indoor shopping, support our local restaurants through indoor dining, watch great movies and more.”
Weekly newspaper Contacted the Los Angeles County Public Health Department for more comments, but did not respond to the release in time
