The sustained increase in cases and hospitalizations fueled by the hyperinfectious subvariant BA.5 pushed Los Angeles County to the high community level of COVID-19 on Thursday, a change that could trigger a new mask-wearing mandate in indoor public spaces by the end of the year. this month unless conditions improve.
Health officials have long said the county was closing in on metrics for a new mask-wearing measure, and those warnings are now closer than ever as the latest wave of COVID-19 continues to affect the region. .
If LA County remains in the high community level for COVID-19, as defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the next two Thursdays, a new mask order would be issued with a date of entry into force from July 29.
If LA County returns to the mid-level during any of the following two weeks, the clock would be reset, pushing the earliest date for any new mask orders to August.
However, given the continued rise in cases – and the potential for a corresponding increase in hospitalizations in the coming weeks – “at this point, it is much more likely that we will remain at the high level for these two weeks,” the statement said. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
“With high transmission rates fueling increased risks, sensible safety precautions that can slow the spread of the virus are warranted, and that includes wearing masks indoors,” he said Thursday.
The mandate renewal would apply indoors for ages 2 and up in a number of familiar establishments and locations, such as shared office spaces, manufacturing and retail settings, event spaces, restaurants and bars, gyms, and studios. yoga, educational environments and children’s programs.
However, it is important to note that masks will not be required for those who use outdoor spaces, since the risk of transmission in those places is significantly lower than indoors.
Customers will be able to remove their mask indoors when eating or drinking.
Although the county is still weeks away from mandating indoor mask wearing, health officials have strongly recommended the practice for months, and continue to do so.
“We are not closing anything. We are not asking people not to be reunited with their loved ones. We are not asking them to give up the activities they like,” Ferrer said. “We are asking them, when there is so much transmission, with a highly transmissible variant, to take sensible steps and go back to wearing a well-fitting, high-filtration mask when you are indoors with others. And I think that’s the wisest thing to do.”
The CDC COVID-19 Community Level is a three-tier measure of coronavirus transmission and hospital impact. For counties in the worst category on that scale, the high category, the CDC recommends the use of face coverings in indoor public spaces.
Being in the high community level means that LA County has seen at least 10 new coronavirus-positive weekly hospitalizations per 100,000 residents. The latest rate was 10.5 new weekly hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, according to the county Department of Public Health.
This figure is up from the previous week’s rate of 8.4, according to the county. (Last week’s combined rate for LA and Orange counties, released by the CDC, was 9.7.)
Los Angeles County has not been at the high level of community transmission since the end of February.
As of Wednesday, there were 1,202 positive coronavirus patients hospitalized countywide, more than double the total recorded a month ago.
And the rate of increase has increased, as the daily census of patients has increased by 52% since the end of June.
The cause of this new flow of hospitalizations is the persistently high transmission of the Ómicron subvariants, the main one of which is BA.5. Los Angeles County has seen an average of 6,400 coronavirus cases a day for the past week, the highest rate since early February.
The number of weekly deaths from COVID-19 has also doubled in the last month, from 50 to about 100.
Officials say BA.5, believed to be the dominant version of the coronavirus circulating across the country, is not only more contagious than previous versions but has also increased the risk of reinfection, even weeks after it was released. a previous case.
According to federal estimates, BA.5 accounted for 65% of coronavirus cases in the country during the week-long period ending Saturday, a staggering increase from a month ago, when it accounted for 17% of cases.
“Many people believe that the risk is much lower now, and that there is no need to worry. We say that you do have to worry,” said Ferrer. “This variant is, as everyone has pointed out, highly infectious, it is easily transmitted from person to person. We need an extra layer of protection, and this is the extra layer.”
There are still a number of settings where mask wearing remains mandatory, including healthcare and long-term care facilities, emergency shelters, cooling centers, jails and prisons, and in workplaces. experiencing a coronavirus outbreak. Los Angeles County, unlike the state as a whole, also requires face coverings when using public transportation or at indoor transportation hubs like airports.
However, should the county go ahead with a broader undercover mask mandate, it will go it alone. No other California counties currently have public indoor mask mandates, although the state Department of Public Health strongly recommends — but does not require — this practice.
As a result, some have questioned the wisdom of Los Angeles County’s approach, as well as whether there would be widespread compliance with the new rules. The only other county to reinstate indoor mask wearing during this latest surge, Alameda, rescinded the order three weeks later, and the effectiveness of that short-lived mandate has been questioned.
However, some experts have pointed out that the Alameda County mandate was the only time a single county in the San Francisco Bay Area has issued such an order without other major counties doing so as well. As a result, the order received significantly less attention in the region, affecting only 1.6 million residents among the 7.7 million who live in the Bay Area.
Instead, an order from Los Angeles County would instantly affect 10 million residents, plus the 600,000 residents of Long Beach and Pasadena. These two cities have their own public health departments and can independently decide whether to align with county standards.
Ferrer pointed to studies that suggest universal mask orders have been effective in reducing virus transmission.
One of them, published in February in the journal Health Affairs, noted that of more than 400 US counties, those with mask mandates between March and October 2020 had 35% lower coronavirus rates than those without. They had the mandate.
A second study, released in March by the CDC, said Arkansas school districts with universal mask requirements between August and October 2021 had a 23% lower incidence of coronavirus cases than districts without a mask order. .
And another CDC publication from February said that consistent use of a high-quality face covering — such as an N95 or KN95 respirator — in indoor public settings was associated with an 83% lower chance of testing positive for the coronavirus, compared with those who did not wear a mask.
Ferrer acknowledged that, for many, reinstating the mask order indoors “will be perceived as a step backwards” and that for others “it will feel unnecessary due to the availability of powerful vaccines and medications.”
“The reality is that because we are living with a SARS-CoV-2 virus that is mutating, there remains uncertainty around the trajectory of this pandemic,” he said. “The best way to manage uncertainty, and to reduce morbidity and mortality, is to remain open to using both the sophisticated tools we have now – our tests, our vaccines, our therapeutics – as well as non-pharmaceutical strategies, ventilation , the use of masks and distancing, to put layers of protection that respond to existing conditions.
This would not be the first time Los Angeles County has acted alone. A year ago – on July 17, 2021 – the county reissued a universal mask mandate in response to the Delta variant, which was extended through March 4. Other California counties followed Los Angeles County’s lead in the weeks since.
Local health officials in other parts of the state have not indicated they are considering a new mask order, and some have said they do not anticipate implementing new orders that are stricter than those required by the state.
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