Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer (Photo: LA County.gov)
LA County Healthcare Director Warns Indoor Mask Mandate May Return Soon
Rising number of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations may force LA County to bring back masks
By Evan Symon, July 9, 2022 2:30 am
Los Angeles County Health officials said on Thursday and Friday that LA County may bring back public indoor mask mandates as soon as the end of July, signaling a regression in COVID-19 policies as new COVID-19 omicron variants come into the state.
Since the repeal of state and local indoor mask mandates in the late winter and early spring of this year, fluctuating COVID-19 transmission rates, as well as rising rates of new cases in the last few months and new variants on the horizon, such as Omicron BA.4 and Omicron BA.5, have counties reconsidering bringing masks and restrictions back. While many have been close to the threshold, which is getting a high number of new cases and hospitalizations over several weeks, some counties have already brought mandates back.
The largest county to date in California to bring back indoor mask mandates has been Alameda County, which brought back the mandate over a month ago on June 3rd. LA County, meanwhile, has been on notice since that time, as rates of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 have crept up. Barbara Ferrer, the LA County Director of Public Health, has tried implementing new measures, such as promoting increased vaccinations for those under 18, in recent weeks in an attempt to curb the growth. However, on Thursday, she noted that the mandate could be back very soon.
“Now, given that we have a lot more BA.4 and BA.5 circulating, that’s really sort of making it much harder to actually slow spread,” explained Ferrer. “We can’t predict with certainty what the future hospitalization trend will look like. However, it is looking more likely, as cases and admissions have continued to increase, that we’ll enter the high community level designation later this month.” See the LA County public health website.
A possible return of mask mandates
According to the Department, if LA County reaches the “high” COVID-19 community level next week, and stays at that level for an additional two weeks, the mask mandate for the County will come into effect and be active on July 29th. However, that is worst case scenario based on the current trends. A return may come in August, September or never, all depending on if the County gets too many new cases and hospitalizations and for how long. While the CDC cannot order a County to bring back masks, their recommendations for many counties in California to bring back the mandates, could influence some, including LA County, to bring them back sooner than later as well.
Despite LA County being close, healthcare officials advised on Friday to not panic, as it would be just as likely that masks would not be returning.
“People do not want these mask mandates back,” Chase Alexander, a healthcare worker in Southern California who has given County mask enforcement information to many businesses in the last few years, told the Globe. “A lot of people have gotten that they were needed, but rates now so low and everyone wanting normalcy back, the return of masks would be a huge blow to businesses, to morale, to pretty much everything. Masks should only be in play when there is a real danger, and less and less lethal variants don’t quite push that. We should definitely track them and make sure they don’t get out of hand, but right now everyone is overreacting to a normal summer bump of cases.”
“What should happen first is a call for volunteers to wear them and see if rates go down with that. Not just go from 0 to mandate. And if it does return, some in LA might do what happened in Philly and sue to remove it. That’s how much it is not liked.”
The next COVID-19 data review in LA County that will help decide on if a mandate will return to the County is on July 14th.
Ignore this woman…
She is not a medical doctor…
Maybe if the state stopped encouraging everyone to get vaccinated with experimental use authorization spike-protein generating injections, and getting “tested” for the associated flu, this circular-logic flustercluck would peter out on its own…
Just read an email from Ventura County announcing the latest C-19 death, a 99 year old woman…
Seriously???
$top the madne$$…. The psy op has played out…
fire the b*tch!
She keeps doing this and truly no one will comply. She must get off on this control, talk about being unhinged!
Omicron is an anagram for Moronic
Wake up, people… They’re mocking and playing us at the same time…
Excellent! Thank you, Critical, very funny !
This disturbed woman wants that jackboot back on your neck SO BAD she can taste it. I won’t waste your time going into all her well-documented totalitarian moves because most of you already know them! Obviously this is ridiculous and absurd; from the very beginning this know-nothing bureaucrat of a fake doctor was obviously not acquainted with time-tested immunology, virology, and epidemiology standards, or if she was she willfully ignored all of it to make up her own rules. She has ignored real science in favor of her unquenchable thirst for control and power and maybe most of all, attention. For her, that two-plus-year slice of heaven at the podium was apparently like a drug. She became addicted and she needs an intervention. Her personal, mental, and emotional problems should not be ours. She ignored her responsibility, we need to ignore her.
She urged “voluntary indoor mask-wearing” recently and sounded very upset that few seemed to be obeying. I attended a FUNERAL yesterday, and there were hundreds of people there. We were indoors in close proximity to one another for two hours and NO ONE wore a mask. I think this train wreck of a “pandemic” is so far in the rear view mirror that it doesn’t even occur to most people to put on a mask.
Good luck trying to choke us again with this one, Fake Doctor Barbara. No one cares anymore.
No one comply. We need to make a statement.
Absolutely YES.
I just had a flashback of the colored tiers and what you can and can’t do. Newsom and company love creating chaos.
No kidding, Stacy, a flashback of fright. I think Fake Doctor Barbara is still using those…. or similar. You know, magic trigger numbers (counting what, exactly? No one knows). Sure hope most people have wised up to that made-up fake authority trick.
More “compliance training.”
Resist.
And the fine governor Newsom is advertising in Florida to come to California where you are free, how can he lie so much with a straight face. What a fake piece of crap, hope people of California have enough nerve to say no, stand up for our rights, we aren’t doing this crap again. Stick your mask where the sun don’t shine, in other words.
The left does not predict it simply announces their plans. When they talk about famines, diseases, lockdowns and masks they are revealing their game plan. Tell them to shove it.
This woman has tormented my family and thousands of other Angelenos for 2.5 years. She made my children miss much more school than they needed to. She forced my children to wear masks—which will have God knows what development effects for the rest of their lives for years. She has completely disregarded the mental health aspects of masking 2.5 years into this for those of us who have anxiety and need stability in our lives to function. ENOUGH. Don’t let us be the only place in the world (check that but I think it’s true) to have a mask mandate at this point. Sue like they did In Philadelphia; bombard the Board of Supervisors with polite but direct requests to stop enabling this rogue health director And to read the room. Mask mandates are an absolute nonstarter at this point and I beg everyone to do what we have to do to make sure they are not force masked in three weeks.
I’ll bet you there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of stories like yours out there. Then there are the shuttered small businesses who were endlessly jerked around, the landlords —- especially the mom and pop landlords —- the people unable to seek regular medical help and treatment in the midst of the rumors and chaos, the young people who were cut off from imagining a future for themselves —- some of whom became despondent, depressed, even suicidal —- the family and friends who surprised us by disowning or shunning us because we wouldn’t get vaccinated to come to Thanksgiving dinner or their child’s rule-laden wedding…. etc.
The only place I’m aware of in the Western world that still has a mask mandate is the tiny island nation of Cyprus. China, of course, has mask mandates along with some other fairly draconian rules, but they don’t seem to be working out all that well.
The good news is, is Dr. (of what?) Ferer proceeds with this crackpot plan, we’ll be able to compare the Covid numbers in LA to the numbers in other large cities.
Spoiler alert: There won’t be any difference.
Agree with you and all the others above who say “RESIST THE FASCISTS” that only want to control us and subjugate us with their fear-porn…
Never again….
I know a surgeon who will surgically sew on a mask to your face for $99.00. Says you can even shower with it! ENOUGH OF THIS STUPIDITY. SIMPLY RESIST AND DO NOT COMPLY. That is how all this surreal, madness ends.
Why is that demonic ghoul who is not a medical doctor allowed to impose medical tyranny? Maybe she’s just implementing the dictates of her deep-state Democrat masters who have destroyed LA and made everyone’s lives miserable?
Not putting another one on ever again. Most counties in cali are already in cdc high rating but none are bringing back this nonsense. Fbf
Well, I think that California’s politicians have learned from the past…….
They need to start the PRE -ELECTION lockdowns and PANIC TROLLING a few months before the election.
We might need another BOOSTER they said on the news last night.
You can’t booster what was NEVER vaccinated ! Duh !
ShipDits !