Los Angeles County entered into a “post-surge period” Wednesday, allowing officials to loosen some masking requirements.
Because daily COVID -19 hospitalization numbers have remained below 2,500 for seven consecutive days, masking at outdoor “mega” events and outdoor spaces at TK-12 schools and childcare sites is now recommended, but no longer required.
The modified Health Officer Order took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Despite California ending its indoor masking requirement for vaccinated people Wednesday, L.A. County will continue requiring masking for everyone — regardless of vaccination status — at all indoor spaces like shops, gyms, bars and movie theaters.
That’s because L.A. County continues to see high coronavirus transmission — despite the recent declines in hospitalization and case numbers.
“The issue is one of timing,” Health Director Barbara Ferrer told L.A. County supervisors Tuesday. “Masks provide an essential layer of protection when transmission is high, and they help us reduce exposures and drive down our case numbers.”
Here’s where masks are required in L.A. County as of Wednesday:
| Masks required | Masks not required |
| – All indoor public settings, venues, gatherings and businesses – On planes, trains, buses, ferries, taxis and ride-shares, and all other forms of public transport – At transportation hubs like airports, bus terminals, train stations, marinas, seaports or other ports and subway stations – In health care settings and long-term care facilities – In all correctional facilities and detention centers – Shelters and cooling centers – Indoors at schools and childcare centers | – Outdoor “mega” events like at Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl -Outdoors at TK-12 schools and childcare sites |
When will masks no longer be required indoors?
Plans are in motion to stop requiring masks indoors in the nation’s most populous county as early as next month.
Once L.A. County’s case rates indicate “moderate” transmission under the CDC’s definition for seven consecutive days, indoor masking would be lifted at many sites, Ferrer said Tuesday. (This is a change from the county’s initial plan to lift the requirement if L.A. County has two consecutive weeks at or below “moderate” transmission.)
That could happen in mid-March if the county continues to see the 7.8% rate of decline it’s been experiencing this past week, and if there are no reports of new variants that threaten vaccine effectiveness, Ferrer said.
But some masking rules could be eased earlier, according to the health director.
“We’re going to assess options to lift in indoor masking protections earlier than when we reach the moderate level of transmission as defined by CDC, at some sites where there are additional layers of protection, including sites that are verifying vaccination for all of the folks that are entering those particular places,” Ferrer said.
Currently, L.A. County is listed under “high” transmission on the CDC’s website, with a case rate of 308 per 100,000 people. It needs to get to fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 to get to the “moderate” threshold.
As of Wednesday, all but two of California’s counties had “high” transmission levels. Alpine and Sierra counties were listed as having “substantial” transmission.
Officials say that at a “post-surge” stage does not mean that the pandemic is over, but that L.A. County is seeing consistent declines from the omicron-fueled surge’s peak that lets the health department tweak its response.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll continue to see declines in our cases, hospitalizations and deaths and with significant improvement in community transmission rates, we’re looking forward to realigning our safety measures,” Ferrer said.
