Los Angeles could bring back mask mandates

• Mask mandates could return to Los Angeles as Covid cases surge across the country.
• New Omicron variants are again driving hospital admissions and deaths in recent weeks.
• In response, cities and states are rethinking their Covid responses and the White House has stepped up efforts to alert the public.

Los Angeles County, California, home to 10 million residents, could face a return to a broad indoor mask mandates later this month if current trends in hospital admissions continue, County Health Director Barbara Ferrer said this week.

Nationwide, the latest surge in Covid-19 is driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 variant, which now accounts for 65% of cases with its BA.4 cousin contributing another 16%. The variants have shown a remarkable ability to evade the protection offered by vaccination.

Could the mask mandate return to Los Angeles County?

With new Omicron variants once again increasing hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks, states and cities are rethinking their responses to Covid-19 and the White House is stepping up efforts to alert the public.

The nation’s most populous county is seeking to reinstate rules requiring face coverings due to another spike in coronavirus cases. Some experts said the warnings are too little, too late, according to The Associated Press.

“The worst variant so far”

“It’s well past the time when the warning could have been put out there,» said Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, who called BA.5 «the worst variant yet.» The global trends for the two mutations have been evident for weeks. Experts say they are rapidly outcompeting older variants and increasing cases wherever they appear.

However, Americans have taken off their masks and returned to traveling and social gatherings. And they have largely ignored booster shots, which protect against the worst outcomes of Covid-19. Courts have blocked federal mask and vaccine mandates, tying the hands of US officials.

White House breaks its silence on Omicron variants

“We learn a lot from how the virus is acting elsewhere and we should apply the knowledge here,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. White House Covid-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha appeared on morning television Wednesday urging booster shots and renewed vigilance.

However, Mokdad said that Federal health officials should push harder on indoor masks, early detection, and timely antiviral treatment. «They’re not doing all they can,» Mokdad said. The administration’s challenge, in the White House’s view, is not its message, but people’s willingness to listen to it, given pandemic fatigue and the response to the virus. Filed Under: Los Angeles mask mandate.

Authorities say what should be done in the face of an increase in cases

For months, the White House has encouraged Americans to make use of free or cheap at-home rapid tests for the virus, as well as the free and effective antiviral treatment Paxlovid that protects against serious illness and death.

On Tuesday, the White House response team called on all adults over 50 to urgently get a booster if they haven’t already this year, discouraging people from waiting for the next generation of vaccines that is expected for the fall when people can roll up their sleeves and get additional protection. Filed Under: Los Angeles mask mandate.