Los Angeles Health Officials are urging people to continue wearing masks indoors, even if they are fully vaccinated.
The state-wide mandate was lifted by Governor Gavin Newsom two weeks ago.
Los Angeles health officials claim that they are concerned about the Delta variant, and that is why they are considering reinstating a mandate.
On Monday, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department issued a statement directing people to continue wearing masks indoors even if they are vaccinated, but insisted that it was a voluntary precautionary measure.“Until we better understand how and to who the Delta variant is spreading, everyone should focus on maximum protection with minimum interruption to routine as all businesses operate without other restrictions, like physical distancing and capacity limits,” the Los Angeles County Public Health Department said in a press release.
"Calling it a 'precautionary measure,' the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued the voluntary mask guidance Monday, saying it was necessary until health officials can 'better understand how and to who the Delta variant is spreading,'" CNN reports. "Experts have said that evidence points to vaccines like those from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech providing high amounts of protection against the variant, but LA Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said it is not clear what the future of the variant will be as it becomes more prevalent."
The guidance suggests that “people wear masks indoors in settings such as grocery or retail stores; theaters and family entertainment centers, and workplaces when you don’t know everyone’s vaccination status.”
The Los Angeles Times reports, "more than 3 in 5 Californians have gotten at least one vaccine dose to date, but fewer than half are fully vaccinated, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California has one of the nation’s highest vaccination rates, and that has many experts confident the Delta strain won’t cause the kinds of COVID-19 surges seen over the last year."
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