Statement from the City of Pasadena: Pasadena Public Health Department has determined that jurisdictional COVID-19 confirmed case rates have declined for about 10 days, and local hospitalization metrics have not continued to increase during that time.
With input from healthcare provider partners, the City of Pasadena health officer will not be issuing a general indoor mask mandate at this time. PPHD will continue to assess the COVID-19 situation, including strain on the healthcare system, and consider appropriate public health actions to protect our community as the situation changes.
Consistent with the CDC and CA Department of Public Health, PPHD strongly recommends that people wear masks indoors when the city and LA County are in the CDC’s high community level, as is the case currently. In particular, people who are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccination, are older, or have underlying medical conditions that put them at greater risk of severe outcomes from infection should take precautions.
If you live, work, or interact with individuals at greater risk, precautions such as mask-wearing and testing are also strongly recommended. Masks are still required in certain settings, including healthcare, long-term care and adult and senior care facilities, congregate shelters, on transportation, and anywhere masks are required by an organization, employer, school or event organizer.
Organizations, employers, schools and event organizers are strongly encouraged to implement an indoor mask requirement at times of high COVID-19 transmission, as we are currently experiencing, to protect employees, customers, student and families, your business operation, and the broader community.
LA County (from PasadenaNOW): Citing continued downward trends in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Los Angeles County scrubbed plans Thursday to re-impose a universal indoor mask-wearing mandate that would have taken effect Friday.
Pasadena officials said they would continue to monitor the COVID situation, saying they would “consider appropriate public health actions to protect our community as the situation changes.”
Long Beach, which also has its own health department, also said it would not institute a new mask mandate. El Segundo and Beverly Hills announced on Wednesday they would not enforce any new mask mandate.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told reporters in an online briefing that the county’s average daily number of new COVID cases over the past week was about 5,900 per day, down from 6,750 a week ago. There were 1,239 COVID-positive patients hospitalized in the county as of Thursday, down from 1,329 a week ago.
She also noted that the average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus has been holding mostly steady.
According to Ferrer, the decline in new infection numbers is “potentially signaling a downward trend in cases.” She said hospitalizations have also begun declining “for the first time since mid-April.”
Declines in new cases and hospitalizations will likely also lead to a reduction in virus-related deaths, she said.
Ferrer had previously said that a new indoor masking mandate would be imposed if the county remained in the “high” virus activity level category as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for two weeks. The county entered the “high” category exactly two weeks ago when the average daily rate of new COVID-related hospital admissions rose above 10 per 100,000 residents. That put the county on track to impose a new masking mandate on Friday.
As of Thursday afternoon, the CDC still put the county’s rate of COVID hospital admissions in the “high” category at 11.5 per 100,000, Ferrer said, but that rate only took into account patient numbers through Monday. The county, however, examined the numbers through Wednesday, which put the rate at 9.7 per 100,000 — enough to move the county back into the “medium” virus activity level.
Ferrer said that figure is “a good reason not to move forward” with an indoor masking mandate, even though it’s likely the county will officially remain in the CDC’s “high” category for at least another week.
Despite the decision against a mandate, masks are still required in some indoor spaces — health care facilities, transit hubs, on transit vehicles, airports, correctional facilities and shelters. A universal mandate would have spread the requirement to all indoor public spaces, including shared office spaces, manufacturing facilities, retail stores, indoor events, indoor restaurants and bars and schools.
Ferrer said Thursday that despite the county’s decision against a mandatory mask-wearing mandate, face coverings are still strongly recommended in locations beyond those where they are required.
Ferrer said Thursday that residents should not fall into complacency in response to the county’s decision against a mask mandate. She reiterated that transmission of COVID-19 remains high across the county, and the virus is still a leading cause of death, killing more people in the first six months of the year than drug overdoses, the flu and traffic crashes combined.
The number of cases announced by the county each day are also believed to be an undercount, since many people rely on at-home tests, the results of which are not always reported to health officials.
The county reported 7,009 new COVID cases on Thursday, along with 18 new deaths.
The 1,239 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Thursday was down from 1,280 on Wednesday. Of those patients, 147 were being treated in intensive care, up from 137 a day earlier.Ferrer noted that should the county see another surge in cases, the idea of a masking mandate will still be on the table, although she said current statistics indicate such a move is unlikely.