Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LA County Health Officials Face Pressure To Ease Indoor Mask Rules
Covid vaccines remain extremely effective against the worst outcomes of the disease — hospitalization and death.
(
Chris Delmas
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
San Francisco’s mask mandate remains in place, but starting Feb. 1 the rules become less stringent for residents and visitors who are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines and booster shot. The move is putting pressure on Los Angeles County health officials to ease indoor masking rules.
San Francisco office workers, gym members and people in so-called “stable cohorts” won’t have to mask up indoors if they have their coronavirus shots. More than 82% of all San Francisco residents are fully vaccinated, compared to 69% in L.A. County.
In L.A. County, the mask rules are unchanged — everyone over the age of two must wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
L.A.’s mask mandate will only change if cases, hospitalizations and transmission numbers drop and maintain a low benchmark under county criteria put in place last fall.
Support for LAist comes from
“Really, what drives a lot of it is getting transmission down to a very low level,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer at a recent press conference.
“We're going to have to look at what's going on in our healthcare system, but also note that if you have a new variant of concern that's evading vaccine protections, you're going to want to make sure that those masks are something that we're layering in for protection,” Ferrer said.
County health officials are facing pressure to ease the indoor mask mandate from supervisor Kathryn Barger, who released a statement Monday saying, in part, “I strongly believe individuals should be allowed to make an informed choice about whether to mask up or not. I hope state and local health leaders take this into consideration and re-evaluate indoor and school masking mandates now.”
L.A. County’s new COVID cases and hospitalizations are falling as the omicron surge appears to be declining. Over the past week, the county has averaged more than 19,000 new cases daily.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist