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Starting Saturday night, LA County will reinstate its mask mandate due to an increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
Fueled by the spread of the Delta variant, Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the country, will require a mask inside, regardless of vaccine status.
But here, on the central coast, are we next?
“If they needed it again, I’d say, ‘Oh no, we’re going back,’ but at the same time, if it’s just a preventative measure, I’d rather keep the community safe, protect our customers. , our loved ones safe, ”said Toni Rivera, director of Central Coast and Valley Shoe Repair.
Santa Barbara County business owners are wondering if potential mask warrants could return to the Central Coast following the LA example.
“I would feel a little bit relieved just to have the cases go down and everything to be over faster,” said Alleah Gutierrez, staff member at Balloon Fantasy.
Much like in Los Angeles, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department says there has been a slight increase in COVID-19 cases, with the majority of them being the Delta variant.
Dr Henning Ansorg, head of public health for Santa Barbara County, said: “Right now we expect that we’re probably somewhere close to 70 percent of every new case will be Delta, just like Los Angeles. .
And some of the Delta variant cases are groundbreaking cases, which means people have still contracted the virus despite being fully vaccinated.
“The good news is that if they are infected, they do not get seriously ill where they need hospital care,” said Dr Ansorg.
Santa Barbara County will only have to reinstate the mask’s mandate if their transmission rates continue to rise. LA County’s transmission rate is currently 6 percent, while Santa Barbara County’s is less than 3 percent.
“We are not enforcing it at this point because our rate of transmission is not high enough or high enough where we feel obligated to do so,” Dr Ansorg added.
In the meantime, some local businesses say they wouldn’t mind if the mask’s warrant returns.
“If it’s just doing our part and wearing a simple mask for 10 minutes to talk to someone and put their shoes back on, I don’t see a problem,” Rivera said.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department says with or without a warrant, it still strongly recommends that the vaccinated and the unvaccinated continue to wear a mask to reduce the spread of the Delta variant.
“The virus is really smart. It changes. It spreads more, faster. One infected person can infect six more, ”said Dr Ansorg.
Dr Ansorg says that for those who are reluctant to get vaccinated, now is the time to do so to avoid hospital admissions.
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