Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
Health

LA County Not Ready To Totally Ditch Masks — Yet

People walk on the beach, some wearing masks.
(
Apu Gomes
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says fully vaccinated people can safely resume many indoor activities without a mask, but Los Angeles County health officials say: not so fast.

The county won't revise its current masking requirements until at least next week, when regulators with Cal/OSHA, the state's workplace safety division, are expected to revisit their temporary COVID-19 safety standards.

The agency is weighing whether to relax its requirements on mask-wearing and social distancing at worksites, as long as employees are fully vaccinated.

County public health director Barbara Ferrer says the current rules also apply to customers going into workplaces, like grocery stores or other businesses:

"Until there's been a change in that, it's really important for us not to jump the gun and create an unintended consequence where we're creating risk where we didn't need to,” she said.

L.A. County updated its mask guidelines two weeks ago to reflect state and federal recommendations that allow fully vaccinated people to go mask-free outside, unless they're in a crowded space.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today