LOS ANGELES — Visitors of Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain won't need to mask up outdoors.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health implemented a new health order for people who attend concerts, car shows and other mega-events to wear face masks outdoors — regardless of vaccination status.
However, the county's health department excluded theme parks, such as Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain, from the new outdoor mega-event mask mandate despite the parks' attracting tens of thousands of visitors a day.
Starting Friday, the county's health officials are ordering residents to wear a face mask or face covering at all times at outdoor events that attract more than 10,000 people, such as music or food festivals, Rams or Chargers games, car shows, triathlons, marathons, parades, sporting events and concerts.
The order states that people don't need to wear a face mask only when actively eating or drinking at the events.
"As the highly infectious delta variant continues to spread, wearing masks regardless of vaccination status indoors and in crowded settings, including at outdoor mega-events, reduces the risk of being infected with and transmitting COVID-19," the statement read.
The new mandate comes as the highly contagious delta variant, a mutation of the coronavirus, continues to sweep Southern California.
The county, on Tuesday, reported 30 deaths and more than 2,900 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the overall total of 1.34 million positive cases in LA and nearly 2,500 deaths as of Tuesday. The county said that 1,679 people with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized, and 24% of them are in the ICU.
"To reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the delta variant, universal masking is now required at all outdoor mega-events where thousands of people from many different communities are crowded together, often for extended periods of time," said Barbara Ferrer, LA County's director of public health. "The most sensible way to add protection is to please keep your mask on when in indoor public places or worksites and at outdoor mega-events when not eating or drinking."
When pressed for more information about the new mask mandate, a county health official referred to the press release. It's unclear how long the mask mandate for outdoor events will remain in effect.
Before the pandemic, Universal Studios Hollywood attracted more than 9.15 million visitors. Six Flags Magic Mountain brought in more than 3.61 million visitors in 2019, as reported by the Themed Entertainment Association/AECOM.
A Universal Studios spokesperson said visitors would not need to wear masks outdoors.
"The health and safety of our guests and team members is our top priority as we comply with all LA County Health guidelines, which currently requires face coverings worn within all indoor venues regardless of vaccination status," said the spokesperson in a statement to Spectrum News.
A Six Flags Magic Mountain spokesperson told Themepark Insider that they're also not changing their policy.
"We are compliant with all LA County mandates requiring masks at all indoor locations regardless of vaccination status," said the spokesperson.