After a continued increase in cases and hospitalizations, LA County returned to a high COVID-19 community transmission level Thursday. If conditions cease to improve over the next two weeks, the county will reinstate an indoor mask mandate on July 29.  

The ultra contagious BA.5 variant has led to a significant rise in deaths for the first time since the omicron variant swept the region this winter. Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the LA County Department of Public Health, said masking is a proven strategy to slow the spread of the virus.

“When you have new variants that have some ability to escape the protections people have from vaccines and from natural immunity in terms of transmission, adding a layer of protection is very sensible,” Ferrer told “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen.

For the past few months LA County has strongly recommended people wear masks in public indoor spaces, but Ferrer said a new mask mandate may now be necessary to protect vulnerable populations experiencing higher rates of poverty and poor health outcomes because of COVID-19. 

“We’ve looked at the data of people who live in communities with lots of poverty… people fully vaccinated living in communities with high rates of poverty are more likely to end up being hospitalized than unvaccinated residents living in our wealthiest communities,” Ferrer noted.

Should LA County continue to have high rates of COVID-19 transmission over the next two weeks, a new mask order will require people to wear facial coverings in all public indoor spaces, such as bars, restaurants, movie theaters, workplaces and schools. However, if the county drops to a medium level of community spread over the next 14 days, masks will remain strongly recommended but not mandated.

The Public Health Director said she understands the discomfort and frustration many Angelenos feel about wearing masks again, but they are a necessary tool to slow down transmission and reduce deaths in Los Angeles. If the mask mandate comes to pass in two weeks, Ferrer hopes people can view them as an act of kindness and generosity to help each other stay healthy.

“I don’t like wearing a mask. I find it annoying. But I’d rather have a slight annoyance than infect anybody else. And I’d like to reduce my chances of getting infected when there’s so much transmission. So I’m willing to wear the mask,” she said.

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