L.A. County lifts outdoor mask mandate
As the number of hospitalized coronavirus-positive patients continues to fall, Los Angeles County relaxed its outdoor masking rules Wednesday.
The revised guidance will allow people to go without face coverings outdoors at K-12 (including transitional kindergarten) schools and child-care facilities, and will apply to exterior areas of “mega” events, such as those at the Hollywood Bowl, Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Mask rules at these settings were lifted at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Masks continue to be required by the county in indoor public spaces.
“With significant improvement in community transmission rates, we’re looking forward to realigning our safety measures while continuing as always to ensure protections for our workers and our most vulnerable residents,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
County health officials had said they would drop outdoor masking requirements once coronavirus-positive hospitalizations dropped below 2,500 for seven consecutive days. The county dipped below that threshold last Wednesday, and the hospital census has continued to tumble since.
According to the latest available state data, there were 1,995 coronavirus-positive patients hospitalized in L.A. County as of Monday. That figure has fallen 26% in the last week.
L.A. County has also seen a significant decline in its coronavirus case count. Over the last week, the county has reported an average of nearly 4,100 new cases per day — down 81% from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by The Times.
“We remain very encouraged by the steady declines that are seen across so many of our metrics,” Ferrer said.
Despite the change to outdoor masking, Angelenos — regardless of vaccination status — will still be required to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces for at least the near term, unlike in most other areas of California.
On Wednesday, state health officials lifted a requirement that all residents age 2 and older wear masks in most indoor public spaces. While the vast majority of California counties have said they will follow that guidance, some — Santa Clara and Mendocino, in addition to L.A. — are retaining local universal indoor mask mandates, likely until at least next month.
Meanwhile, some well-known venues and events said they are planning to relax mask rules in light of the state’s move.
Officials at Disneyland on Tuesday confirmed that the Anaheim resort will follow the state’s guidelines by allowing vaccinated visitors to enter indoor eateries, stores and attractions without masks, starting Thursday. Unvaccinated visitors must wear a mask in those settings, but park employees will not be checking vaccination records, Disney representatives said.
Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park and Sea World in San Diego have also announced plans to follow the state guidelines regarding masks.
Goldenvoice, organizer of the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals, said Tuesday that it will eliminate all COVID-19 safety precautions from this spring’s events.
When it comes to indoor masking in L.A. County, the approach to lifting the mandate has…
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