Mask mandate reinstated in Los Angeles County healthcare facilities
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County health officials announced the reinstatement of a mask mandate Saturday, Dec. 30 in all the county's healthcare facilities for employees, patients and visitors.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health cites the steep increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations as the reason for the reinstatement.
According to health officials, LA County entered the CDC's "medium level" for hospital admissions Friday, triggering the mandate.
The change comes after LA health officials updated its health order Wednesday, indicating a potential mandate.
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The order states that the healthcare mask mandate will expire when LA County re-enters CDC's "low level" for COVID-19 hospitalizations and remains there for two consecutive weeks.
As of Friday, LA County is averaging approximately 10.5 weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 for COVID-19. That number needs to fall below 10 for the healthcare mask mandate to be lifted.
There were 609 COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals as of Dec. 23, according to state data. That's up from 259 on Nov. 1, but lower than at this time last year, when the number was over 1,200. Some of those patients were admitted for other reasons and discovered they had COVID after being tested at the hospitals.
Since last week, the reported daily average of COVID-19 cases in the county has increased by more than 25%, from 495 to 621, according to the health department. Officials said the number represents an undercount, due to the large number of home test results for COVID-19 that are not reported.
City News Service contributed to this report.