Los Angeles sheriff refuses to apply new warrant on indoor masks

The Los Angeles County Sheriff has announced his department will not enforce the County Department of Public Health’s reinstated indoor mask warrant as COVID-19 cases soar in the region, mistakenly claiming that it is “not backed by science”.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a statement Friday that he “will not spend our limited resources” to enforce the new order.

“Forcing people who have been vaccinated and those who have already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not supported by science and contradicts guidelines from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” he said. -he adds.

The new local mandate does not contradict CDC policy.

The CDC currently does not recommend that vaccinated people wear masks indoors – except when required by law. As cases of the dangerous and highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 skyrocket, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky told a White House press briefing on Friday that localities experiencing an increase of the number of cases might consider reinstating indoor mask warrants to protect against the disease. The World Health Organization still urges fully vaccinated people to wear masks.

Villanueva recognized the legal right of the county health department to fill his order. However, he urged the agency to “work in collaboration with (…) law enforcement to establish mandates that are both achievable and backed by science.” He also called for “voluntary” compliance with the ordinance.

California eased health restrictions last month, but after the number of new COVID-19 cases rose in the Los Angeles area, public health officials said Thursday that all residents of the county, regardless of or their vaccination status, are now required to wear a mask indoors (as on Saturday).

“The alarming increase in cases, positivity rates and increasing hospitalizations indicate that immediate action must be taken to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr Muntu Davis, county health official, in a press release. “Otherwise, we could quickly see more devastating illness and death among the millions of residents. “

Walensky warned Friday that the new upsurge in cases is an “unvaccinated pandemic,” roaring in areas with low vaccination rates. Only 52% of the more than 10 million people in Los Angeles County – the most populous county in the country – have been fully immunized. Almost 4 million people have not been vaccinated there, including 1.3 million children under the age of 12.

New cases of coronavirus among vaccinated residents are low, but remain a concern, county officials noted. As of Tuesday, there had been a total of 4,122 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among those fully vaccinated.

The United States recorded a total of 79,310 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the highest daily tally in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.