As LA County Goes, So Undoubtedly Will UCLA

From the LA Times: Los Angeles County is retaining its mask mandate for vaccinated people even as Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego County are set to ease their rules on Feb. 16. So how soon could L.A. County loosen its mask mandate? L.A. County is taking a more cautious approach to easing its mask order for vaccinated people, noting that the county is still recording high coronavirus transmission rates. In fact, L.A. County is not alone in recording high transmission rates — virtually every county in California is still classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having a high transmission rate...

L.A. County has outlined two criteria to ease its mask rules in the coming weeks and months. First, once coronavirus-positive hospitalizations drop below 2,500 for seven straight days, L.A. County will lift mask requirements at outdoor “mega” events, such as as those at the Hollywood Bowl, Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — as well as outdoor spaces at child-care settings and K-12 schools. The benchmark was developed in consultation with hospitals in the county, which agreed that they could return to most of their customary operations with fewer than 2,500 coronavirus-positive patients. Hospitals throughout Southern California have been strained during the Omicron surge, with a number of facilities forced to cancel at least some scheduled surgeries and procedures...

Second, L.A. County’s local indoor mask mandate won’t be lifted until the region records two consecutive weeks at or below “moderate” coronavirus transmission, as defined by the CDC. Reaching that tier would require the county’s case rate to drop below 50 weekly coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, and for the positive test rate to be less than 8%, for two consecutive weeks. The county’s threshold matches the recommendations issued by the CDC for when the agency says masks are suggested for indoor public settings. The positive test rate already fell under 8% last week, and as of Monday, was at 5%. But L.A. County’s case rate still has a way to go before falling under the goal...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-08/l-a-county-keeping-mask-mandate-even-as-o-c-inland-empire-drop-it-heres-why.