Dear LA County Sector Partners,
Once LA County enters post surge (when COVID daily hospitalizations drop below 2,500 for 7 consecutive days), masking will no longer be required in outdoor spaces at outdoor Mega Events or in outdoor spaces at childcare facilities and K-12 schools. The masking requirement at indoor establishments will continue until:
- LA County has two consecutive weeks at or below Moderate Transmission (10-49.99 new cases/100,000 persons in the past seven days), as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention OR
- Vaccines have been available for children under age five for eight weeks; AND
- No emerging reports of significantly circulating new variants of concern that threaten vaccine effectiveness.
Per state regulations, indoor masking at K-12 schools, childcare facilities, youth settings, healthcare settings, correctional facilities, homeless and emergency shelters, and cooling centers is still required.
Additionally, per federal regulations, masking when riding public transit and in transportation is still required.
Employers must also continue to provide high quality and well-fitting masks to workers who are in close contact with others until transmission is lower. Vaccination verification will also continue at mega events and indoor sections of bars, lounges, nightclubs, wineries, breweries, and distilleries.
Post surge does not mean the pandemic is over or that transmission is low or that there will not be additional unpredictable waves of surges in the future that will require integrated public health measures. Rather, post surge acknowledges that we’re stabilizing with consistent declines from the surge peak and it realigns our current public health response to meet current mitigation needs.
And with the current levels of transmission, the safest action for all of us is to protect ourselves and our essential workers by layering in protections, which include testing, vaccinations, infection control, and masking. Being cautious still makes sense and doing everything we can to drive down the high rate of transmission is an appropriate goal for us to continue to embrace as a community as the steps we’re taking are helping us move in the right direction.
Please see the following resources:
- LAC DPH Mask Guidance: English webpage | Página web en español
- COVID-19 Vaccinations: English webpage | Página web en español
Other pertinent information and resources can be found on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
Thank you for your ongoing efforts to protect the health and well-being of Los Angeles County residents.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health