By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported that hospitalizations remained under 2,500 for seven consecutive days on Wednesday, February 16, prompting officials to relax the county’s outdoor mask rules.
The modified guidance recommends—but no longer requires—Angelenos to wear masks at outdoor mega events, and outdoor spaces at schools and childcare centers.
Public Health will continue to require masks in indoor establishments until the county has seven consecutive days at or below “moderate transmission,” and no reports of new variants that can threaten vaccine effectiveness.
According to the CDC, “moderate transmission” is when there are less than 50 new cases per 100,000 people over the span of a week. LA County is currently listed under “high” transmission on the CDC’s website.
“We anticipate that with continued steep declines in case numbers indicating much lower transmission, we will be able to safely lift indoor mask mandates in mid-March,” Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Please continue to take sensible precautions that reduce exposures so that we don’t lose ground.”
In alignment with Public Health, outdoor masking also became optional for all individuals in the Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday, February 22, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced.
“We will continue to follow the expert advice of public health and medical experts,” Carvalho shared in a statement. “Let us continue to focus on the academic and social and emotional needs of our students.”
Following state regulations, indoor masking at schools, childcare, correctional and healthcare facilities, homeless and emergency shelters is still required.
The state is slated to provide an updated assessment on February 28 on safety considerations for schools, according to Public Health.
Vaccination verification will also continue at LA County mega events and indoor sections of bars, lounges, nightclubs, wineries, breweries and distilleries.
As of Thursday, February 17, over 17.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to people across LA County. To date, 90.1% of Pacific Palisades and 90.3% of Palisades Highlands residents have gotten at least one shot, according to data from Public Health.
Angelenos are eligible to get vaccinated at county-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites. To find a vaccination site or make an appointment, visit vaccinateLAcounty.com.
As the Palisadian-Post went to print Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had reached 2,784,276 across the county when factoring in Long Beach and Pasadena, with 30,376 deaths.
Pacific Palisades had reached 3,109 confirmed cases and 16 deaths Tuesday, with an additional 592 in Palisades Highlands and two deaths.
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