#16,041
Although a lot of people are going to be dismayed at the idea, the announcement overnight from Los Angeles County isn't entirely unexpected, as the Delta variant has already made serious inroads in the UK, India, and more recently Israel (see Israel to reinstate indoor mask mandate next week as COVID-19 cases keep rising).
Last week the ECDC issued a new Threat Assessment On Spread of COVID Variant B.1.617.2 (Delta) VOC which which bluntly warned against relaxation of nonpharmaceutical measures to reduce the spread of the Delta variant, and last the WHO urged fully vaccinated people to continue to wear face masks.
While not a mandate, the revised advice from the L A County Health department is clear. Vaccinated or not, they strongly urge everyone to wear a mask in public spaces.
June 28, 2021
As Delta Variant Circulates, Public Health Recommends Masking Indoors as a Precaution - 3 New Deaths and 259 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County
With increase circulation of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) strongly recommends everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as a precautionary measure. In the week ending June 12, Delta variants comprised of nearly half of all variants sequenced in Los Angeles County. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that Delta variants are now responsible for about one in every five new infections across the country, up from approximately one in every 10 the week before.Public Health strongly recommends 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. 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.Fully vaccinated people appear to be well protected from infections with Delta variants, however people with only one vaccine dose of Pfizer or Moderna are not as well-protected. The smaller number of COVID-19 infections identified in people who are fully vaccinated have been mild illnesses.For masks to work properly, they need to completely cover your nose and mouth and fit snugly against the sides of your face and around your nose. If you aren’t fully vaccinated, your mask is one of the most powerful tools you have to protect yourself and other unvaccinated people. This is especially true when you are in an indoor or crowded outdoor space. If you are not fully vaccinated and work in a setting where you have sustained close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, consider wearing a respirator for additional protection.Public Health has confirmed 3 new deaths and 259 new cases of COVID-19. The number of cases and deaths are likely to reflect reporting delays over the weekend. Of the three new deaths reported today, one person that passed away was between the ages of 65 and 79, one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49.To date, Public Health identified 1,249,560 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,480 deaths. There are 238 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 7,013,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive. Today's daily test positivity rate is 0.9%."We send our deepest condolences to everyone who is mourning a loved one or friend who has passed away from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “While COVID-19 vaccine provides very effective protection preventing hospitalizations and deaths against the Delta variant, the strain is proving to be more transmissible and is expected to become more prevalent. Mask wearing remains an effective tool for reducing transmission, especially indoors where the virus may be easily spread through inhalation of aerosols emitted by an infected person.”
I expect we'll see other agencies and jurisdictions follow suit as Delta continues to increase its presence across the United States (see CDC: Alpha Variant Continues To Decline In US As Delta & P.1 Rise).
While I certainly don't enjoy wearing a mask - and I've been fully vaccinated since April - I've never stopped wearing one in public.
For me, not wearing a mask because you are vaccinated is like not wearing a seatbelt because you have airbags in your car. You don't know if they will deploy until you actually crash, and even if they do, they don't provide full protection.
And while I'm quite happy to have the protection from the vaccine, I recognize there are limits to its ability to prevent infection, particularly against the Delta variant. Some recent blogs on that topic include:
