Tag Archives: indoor masking

Health

Universal indoor masking may soon return in Los Angeles County as omicron subvariants surge

Leave a comment

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Los Angeles County is getting closer to bringing back an indoor masking mandate.

The county is on the verge of moving into the CDC’s “high” level of community transmission as early as Thursday. Staying two weeks at that level would automatically trigger an indoor masking mandate.

A return of the mandate appears imminent as new omicron subvariants fuel a summer surge.

But how do people feel about it?

Like many residents, Roman Lomtadze says he’s not ready to go back to masking.

“I’m really not sure about it,” he said.

“I think they do work. But telling people that they must wear them? I think that’s where I’m starting to have a problem with that,” Lomtadze said.

Health officials report the highly transmissible omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 now account for 40% of sequenced cases.

“That’s two and a half times higher than it was just two weeks earlier,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “Both BA.4 and BA.5 are of special concern because of their ability to evade prior immunity.”

This means people who were previously infected with other variants can get it again.

“This is real, and the county has indicated that we’re heading towards indoor masking again,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.

L.A. County reported 100 COVID-19 deaths in the past week – the highest total in three months.

“More people have died this year from COVID than flu, than from homicides, than from car accidents combined. I think all of us want this to be done. We think that it’s done, but it’s still quite dangerous,” said Garcetti.

He said the goal of universal indoor masking is to knock down the spread. And if everyone participated, we wouldn’t have to do it for long.

“It’s for the safety of you but it’s also for the safety of others,” said Orian Gaston who is visiting from Texas.

“If everybody does it, then yes if it’s required,” said tourist Mark Freegard

“We’d be happy to wear a mask if that was the mandate and everybody was doing it,” said Freegard’s wife, Alison.

“You know it sucks,” said Clyde Hayes of Los Angeles.

“But we got to do what we got to do,” said Kayla Star of Los Angeles.

“We gotta do what we gotta do to get back to normal,” said Hayes.

The White House COVID-19 response team is urging eligible Americans to get caught up on their vaccines and boosters. Wednesday, the FDA authorized the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older, making it the fourth vaccine to receive an emergency use authorization.

Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.



Read original article here

US

Philadelphia reinstates indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases rise across city

Leave a comment

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The City of Philadelphia will once again be under an indoor mask mandate.

The Department of Public Health made the announcement on Monday afternoon during a press briefing.

Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said mask precautions begin Monday, but in order to provide a one-week education period for businesses, masks will be required in all indoor public spaces as of Monday, April 18.

“If we fail to act now, knowing that every previous wave of infections has been followed by a wave of hospitalizations, and then a wave of deaths, it will be too late for many of our residents,” said Bettigole, noting about 750 Philadelphia residents died in the wintertime omicron outbreak. “This is our chance to get ahead of the pandemic, to put our masks on until we have more information about the severity of this new variant.”

Starting April 18, masks will be required in all indoor public spaces, including schools and child care settings, businesses, restaurants, and government buildings.

At that time, residents will be asked to report any business not complying with the mandate to 311.

Bettigole cited a rise in COVID cases as the reason why the city is reinstating the mask requirements for indoor public spaces. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days.

The health department says the city will move to Level 2: Mask Precautions under its COVID-19 Response guidelines.

Level 2 is reached when the city meets two of the following three criteria:

  • Average new cases per day are less than 225
  • Hospitalizations are less than 100
  • Cases have increased by more than 50% in the previous 10 days.

Under Level 2, you must wear a mask when indoors in public places.

However, there is no vaccine or testing requirement for places that serve food or drink under Level 2.

The city had lifted its indoor mask mandate and moved to the All Clear Level 1 on Wednesday, March 2. Now, 41 days later, the city is bringing it back.

The restaurant industry pushed back against the mandate, saying workers will bear the brunt of customer anger over the new rules.

“This announcement is a major blow to thousands of small businesses and other operators in the city who were hoping this spring would be the start of recovery,” said Ben Fileccia, senior director of operations at the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Councilman Allan Domb said business owners have been calling his office to express concerns.

This spring was thought to be the comeback for many businesses, including restaurants that were lucky to survive after months of closures and restrictions during the pandemic.

Reinstating a mask mandate has some concerned that customers may just decide to go elsewhere, like New Jersey or the collar counties that haven’t had any restrictions in months.

“I’m hoping I can get to the health commissioner and try to convince her we should look at other options — maybe making it strongly recommended but not required,” said Domb.

PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said Friday that while it expects some increased transmission in the northern U.S. over the next several weeks, hospital admissions have remained low and “our team advises against required masking given that hospital capacity is good.”

Bettigole said requiring people to mask up will help restaurants and other businesses stay open, while a huge new wave of COVID-19 would keep customers at home. She said hospital capacity was just one factor that went into her decision to reinstate the mandate.

“I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do this again,” Bettigole said. “But I am very worried about our vulnerable neighbors and loved ones.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



Read original article here

Health

County Encourages Indoor Mask Wearing, Regardless of Vaccination Status | News

Leave a comment

Amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency is recommending all San Diegans wear facial coverings in indoor public settings.

While vaccinated people are no longer required to wear a face covering in most settings, the California Department of Public Health updated its guidance for those who are fully vaccinated to strongly encourage the continued use of face coverings indoors.

The guidance recommends that all Californians, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask in indoor public settings. People who are immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19 should be particularly cautious, as well as people who share a household with someone who is immunocompromised, at increased risk of severe disease, not fully vaccinated, or not yet eligible for vaccination.

Indoor masking for vaccinated people is also supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which notes that individual and community-level prevention measures, in addition to vaccination, have been shown to help reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

The new guidance is in addition to CDPH mandates requiring masks on public transit, in transportation hubs like airports, indoors in K-12 schools and childcare centers, emergency shelters, cooling centers, healthcare settings, state and local correctional facilities and detention centers, homeless shelters, long term care settings and adult and senior care facilities.

Additionally, masks are required for unvaccinated individuals in indoor public settings and businesses, retail, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment centers and state and local government offices serving the public.

“Indoor masking, regardless of vaccination status, adds an additional layer of protection and reduces the risk of transmission of COVID-19,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “If you are not fully vaccinated yet, I urge you to get your shot now, so we can slow the spread of this more contagious strain of COVID-19.”

No-cost COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in the region. They can be found at medical providers, retail pharmacies, community clinics and County public health centers for people who do not have a medical provider. For a list of locations and more information, visit  www.coronavirus-sd.com/vaccine.

Vaccination Progress:

Deaths:

  • 25 new deaths were reported since the last report on Aug. 18. The region’s total is 3,859.
  • 10 women and 15 men died between Aug. 11 and Aug. 22, 2021.
  • Six were 80 years of age or older, one was in their 70s, six were in their 60s, nine were in their 50s and three were in their 40s.
  • 20 had underlying medical conditions, two did not and three had medical history pending.

Cases, Case Rate and Testing:

  • 1,327 COVID-19 cases were reported to the County on Aug. 24. The region’s total is now 327,166.
  • San Diego County’s case rate per 100,000 residents is 35.2 overall, 9.3 for fully vaccinated people and 66.9 for not fully vaccinated San Diegans.
  • 16,915 tests were reported to the County on Aug. 24, and the percentage of new positive cases was 7.8%.
  • The 14-day rolling percentage of positive cases among tests is 7.3%.

Community Setting Outbreaks:

  • 41 new community outbreaks were confirmed in the past seven days (Aug. 18 through Aug. 24): 12 in business settings, six in restaurant/bar settings, five in government settings, five in TK-12 school settings, four in daycare/preschool/childcare settings, two in healthcare settings, one in a community-based organization setting, one in an emergency services setting, one in a faith-based setting, one in a hotel/resort/spa setting, one in a restaurant setting, one in a retail setting and one in a social club setting.
  • The community outbreaks trigger is more than seven in a 7-day period.

More Information:

Data updates to the County’s coronavirus-sd.com website are published around 5 p.m. on Wednesdays.

 

Read original article here