By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
Los Angeles County lifted its indoor mask mandate on Friday, March 4, after announcing the county’s coronavirus community level had dropped into the “low” category.
The modified guidance recommends—but no longer requires—indoor masking for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in public settings and businesses, “except in high-risk settings where federal or state regulations continue to require masking.”
“The settings where masking continues to be required … include public transit, transportation hubs, all health care settings (including long term care and adult and senior care facilities), correctional and detention facilities, homeless shelters, heating and cooling centers, and emergency shelters,” according to Public Health.
The modified order also relaxed vaccination verification rules. Pre-entry vaccine verification or verification of a negative COVID-19 test is no longer required at outdoor mega-events, and indoor portions of bars, nightclubs and lounges—but still recommended.
Pre-entry vaccine verification is still required for entry to indoor mega-events, with a negative test result as a substitute for those who are not fully vaccinated.
Public Health also announced it would align school masking measures with the state and shift to “strongly recommending” indoor masking requirements at childcare sites at schools, beginning March 12. Masking indoors for both vaccinated and unvaccinated LA County students, staff, teachers and visitors will no longer be required.
“With recent updates from the state and county allowing districts to move from requiring indoor masking to recommending it on March 12, I am hopeful that LAUSD can work with all stakeholders to align our own protocols by then,” Vice President of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Nick Melvoin said in a statement. “I will continue to advocate for a clear and consistent roadmap from public health officials to better prepare our school communities and communicate with our families.”
As of Thursday, March 3, over 17.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to people across LA County. To date, 90.3% of Pacific Palisades and 90.6% 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 2,805,119 across the county when factoring in Long Beach and Pasadena, with 31,046 deaths.
Pacific Palisades had reached 3,167 confirmed cases and 17 deaths Tuesday, with an additional 598 in Palisades Highlands and two deaths.
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