LA County to require masks for everyone in public indoor spaces starting at midnight on Saturday

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The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Los Angeles County will issue a new health order that will mandate that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks when in public indoor spaces starting at 12:01 AM on Sunday, July 18. Currently, only individuals who are not fully vaccinated are required to wear masks in public indoor spaces. This new mandate follows on the heels of recommendations from the County that everyone wear masks indoors in response to the increase in spread of COVID-19 due to the prevalence of the Delta Variant. County health officials said that this mandate will likely be in place until there is a decrease in transmission County wide.

This mandate will apply to all areas of the county except Pasadena and Long Beach. Both of these cities already recommend that all individuals wear masks in public indoor spaces. Pasadena’s Health Officer told the Los Angeles Times that her office is exploring a mandate requiring masking.

While the County has not yet issued an official order, health officials told the Los Angeles Times that the order will be similar to previous mask orders. All businesses that are open to the public should require that employees, visitors and customers wear masks when in an indoor space with another person. Car dealers in particular should also consider requiring that all employees and customers wear masks if in a vehicle with another person.

Businesses in Los Angeles County that adopted looser COVID-19 restrictions in response to the State, Cal-OSHA, and the County rescinding many of their prevention mandates will need to act quickly to communicate the new requirement to their employees and customers. Signs informing customers that they must wear a mask while indoors should be returned to every public entrance. Businesses that are open to the public should inform their employees and be prepared to answer questions. As a reminder, employers must make masks available to employees, including now N-95 masks if the employee makes that request.

Contact Scali Rasmussen if you have questions about whether this Los Angeles County mandate applies to you.