Pasadena, LA County easing indoor mask rules-On Wednesday, February 23, the County of Los Angeles released a new health order that relaxes masking requirements for fully vaccinated people in certain settings.
Because of steady improvement in COVID-19 metrics, a high local vaccination rate, and anticipated adjustments to guidance by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Pasadena, as a separate health jurisdiction, will issue an updated health order, effective Saturday, February 26, 2022. This Order will give fully vaccinated people the option to either wear or remove masks in many indoor settings in alignment with State Health Officer Order (California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Face Covering Guidance). This Order will differ slightly from the County approach because it is less restrictive in allowing for additional options for vaccine verification, including self-attestation, in most businesses and public areas.
The State Health Officer Order requires anyone who is not fully vaccinated to mask in all indoor public settings and businesses (including, but not limited to retail, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment centers, workplaces, and state and local government offices serving the public). As such, the Pasadena Public Health Department (PPHD) strongly recommends that businesses, worksites, venue operators or hosts follow CDPH guidance that provides options for reducing COVID-19 transmission risk including:
- Require all patrons to wear masks; OR
- Implement vaccine verification to determine whether people are required to wear a mask; OR
- Provide information to all patrons, guests and attendees regarding vaccination requirements and allow vaccinated people to self-attest that they are in compliance prior to entry.
Until COVID-19 cases reach the Moderate level of the CDC framework, which is expected by the end of March, businesses/operators are encouraged to take measures to protect employees and customers by implementing both vaccine verification and, for those who are not fully vaccinated, verification of a negative COVID-19 test (within 2 days if PCR and 1 day if antigen). People who are not fully vaccinated, including employees and customers, are required to wear a mask indoors in public.
No person can be prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a business.
People who are ill with COVID-19 symptoms should wear a mask regardless of vaccination status, test and stay home. People are still required to mask, regardless of vaccination status, if they are within 10 days of symptom onset of a COVID-19 infection (or positive test if asymptomatic) or quarantining after exposure to COVID-19.
The State’s Health Order and federal regulations continue to require masks, regardless of vaccination status, in the following indoor settings:
On public transit (examples: airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares) and in transportation hubs (examples: airport, bus terminal, marina, train station, seaport or other port, subway station or any other area that provides transportation)
- Indoors in K-12 schools and at childcare centers
- Emergency shelters and cooling and heating centers
- Healthcare settings
- State and local correctional facilities and detention centers
- Homeless shelters
- Long term care settings and adult and senior care facilities
Fully vaccinated people are recommended to continue indoor masking when the risk of COVID-19 transmission or severe disease may be high. Surgical masks or respirators (e.g., N95s, KN95s, KF94s) with good fit remain highly recommended.
Up to date vaccination (including booster doses when eligible) are highly recommended for everyone ages 5 years and older as the safe and effective way to protect against severe disease from COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. In addition, the Pasadena Public Health Department strongly encourages people to continue to mask indoors and follow other common-sense COVID-19 safety strategies, such as staying home when sick; frequent hand-washing; and testing for COVID-19 when in contact with someone who has the virus or when experiencing any COVID-like symptoms.
The State’s Health Order continues to order masking indoors in K-12 schools and at childcare centers. Local health jurisdictions do not have the authority to relax that requirement.
For local COVID-19 resources including testing and vaccination locations, visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/covid-19/.
Health officials say business customers who are fully vaccinated will not need face coverings starting Friday. By Ryan Carter for the Pasadena Star-News: Friday, Los Angeles County businesses and some other venues can start allowing patrons to go unmasked indoors if they prove they are fully vaccinated, officials said Wednesday.
The action marks a significant shift as the region emerges from the grip of the winter coronavirus surge. The move, however, is an interim measure and does not include schools.
While fully vaccinated customers may be unmasked in the indoor setting, those who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear a well-fitting mask while indoors except when actively eating or drinking “As transmission drops and there is less virus circulating, some tools may afford significant protections against the very worst risks associated with COVID,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “Because vaccines are one of these tools, with lower rates of hospital admissions and COVID hospitalizations, it is appropriate in settings verifying vaccination or negative test status, that we transition to strongly recommending masking instead of requiring masking.”
Officials emphasized that the revised rule is in place until the county reaches two consecutive weeks of moderate transmission, defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as 10 to 49.99 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days. Officials say when the county gets to that point, expect more unwinding.
As of Wednesday, the CDC was showing a case rate per 100,000 of 224.89 and a transmission risk that remained high. Ferrer said if rates fall at the current clip, further loosening of restrictions could come in mid to late March.
Alternative criteria to the case rates would be if COVID-19 vaccines were made available to residents younger than age 5 for at least eight weeks and if no emerging “variatons of concern” had been identified that could spark another surge.
The revised order comes after weeks of falling cases and hospitalizations in the county.
Cases: COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across L.A.County are still on the decline, although transmission rates still have not dropped below pre-omicron surge levels, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported on the eve of indoor masking rules being eased for the fully vaccinated.
There were 1,985 new cases of the virus reported Thursday, along with 74 COVID- 19 deaths. Hospitalizations also declined again Thursday, the county said, dipping to 1,150.
The daily test positivity rate was 2.2% — meaning about 1 in every 50 tests was positive, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during her weekly briefing. During the height of the winter surge, that rate was exceedingly worse — with about 1 in 4 individuals testing positive for the coronavirus.
Average daily totals of COVID-19 cases have dropped by 94% since mid-January, Ferrer said, when there were up to 40,000 new cases reported daily.
Wednesday, 1,204 people in the county were hospitalized. On Jan. 19, the number was much higher — 4,814 people. That’s a 75% dip and part of a trend that fueled the public health decision to loosen the indoor masking restrictions that had been in place since July. Still, officials on Wednesday confirmed 36 more deaths and 1,934 new cases of COVID-19 in the county, bringing the totals to 30,447 and 2,787,359, respectively. The county’s positivity rate stood at 2.3%.
Public health officials continue to urge vigilance, given that several times before when masks came off, rates rose in response. According to figures released last week, 82% of eligible residents aged 5 and over have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 74% are fully vaccinated and 36% are fully vaccinated and received a booster shot.
Of the county’s 10.3 million people, 78% have had at least one dose, 70% are fully vaccinated and 34% have received a booster shot.
From the New York Times: A powerful new vaccine: The makers of a new coronavirus vaccine announced results from their clinical trials today — and they are very promising.
The pharmaceutical companies, Sanofi and GSK, which are based in Europe, said two doses of their new Covid vaccine achieved 100 percent efficacy against severe disease and hospitalizations. The new vaccine had an efficacy of 75 percent against moderate to severe disease.
It showed 58 percent efficacy against symptomatic disease in its Phase 3 clinical trial. That is a lower number than in initial Pfizer and Moderna trials but “in line with expected vaccine effectiveness in today’s environment dominated by variants of concern,” Sanofi and GSK said in a statement.
The companies also said that the new shot could be an effective booster. When used as an extra dose after one of the other available coronavirus vaccines, it increased antibody levels by 18- to 30-fold. The vaccine was safe and well tolerated by adults of all ages, the companies said. The data has not yet been published.
The new vaccine, one of four that received funding from the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed program, is based on a conventional approach. The best target for Covid vaccines is the spike protein that covers the surface of the virus like a crown, and the Sanofi-GSK vaccine uses a slightly modified version of the protein to stimulate an immune response. The mRNA vaccines, by contrast, contain the genetic instructions for making the protein.
This familiar approach may persuade some people who have been hesitant to adopt the newer mRNA technology. Protein-based vaccines are also relatively inexpensive to manufacture and may not require the ultracold storage needed for the mRNA vaccines, making them more likely candidates for use in African nations where vaccine coverage is still low.
The companies said they intended to submit the vaccine for authorization in the U.S. and Europe. They were expected to seek authorization last year, but clinical trials showed disappointing results in older adults. They then developed a stronger version for new trials.
The Economy: Remote workforce to grow at U.S. firms: U.S. firms, struggling to fill a near-record level of job vacancies, are increasingly promoting remote and hybrid working arrangements to recruit employees.
A Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond survey found that a quarter of employers expect to have more remote workers next year. The bigger the company, the more likely it is to anticipate an increase in the number of employees who will be working away from the office. These firms also are recruiting farther geographically than they used to. The findings back up recent research showing that remote and hybrid work is on the rise — even as the coronavirus recedes in the U.S. and many big banks are bringing workers back to the office in large cities.
An increasing number of companies are concerned about an exodus of talent, according to a survey from outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. As a result, almost three-quarters said they are offering hybrid and remote work options to retain workers. Among firms with more than 500 employees, the Richmond Fed’s survey found that almost 60% now use work-from-home options to recruit full-time employees. And more than three-quarters offer that flexibility to retain existing ones.
U.S. jobless claims beat expectations: Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance fell last week by more than forecast, continuing an overall downward trend as the labor market recovery continues.
Initial unemployment claims decreased by 17,000 to 232,000 in the week ended Feb. 19, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate called for 235,000 applications in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Continuing claims for state benefits fell to 1.48 million in the week ended Feb. 12, a pandemic low. The decrease in claims is consistent with a labor market that’s back on track after the omicron-induced surge last month. Demand for labor still far outstrips supply, and more Americans should be eager to go back to work as COVID- 19 cases fall and restrictions ease.
The data comes ahead of next week’s monthly employment report, which is currently forecast to show the U.S. added 400,000 jobs in February. On an unadjusted basis, initial claims decreased to 214,873 last week.
The U.S. economy ended 2021 by expanding at a brisk 7% annual pace from October through December, the government reported Thursday in a slight upgrade from its earlier estimate as businesses stepped up their restocking of supplies.
For all of 2021, the nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — jumped by 5.7%, the fastest calendar-year growth since a 7.2% surge in 1984 in the aftermath of a brutal recession.
So far this year, though, the outlook for the economy has dimmed considerably in the face of accelerating inflation, higher borrowing rates, anxious financial markets and the likelihood of a serious military conflict caused by Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine. Snarled supply chains, with resulting shortages of parts and goods, also are disrupting businesses. And American households this year won’t be receiving government stimulus aid.