Los Angeles County, the nation's most populous county and one of two places in California that still requires masks indoors, plans to let people take off their masks later this week.
Diners wearing masks hold up their coffee mugs at Eat At Joe's, which has remained open despite reimposed Los Angeles County Covid-19 restrictions. The photo was taken by Patrick T. Fallon.
The change is expected to take effect on Friday, according to the supervisor.
Los Angeles County's Department of Public Health didn't confirm the policy shift Tuesday, but told Forbes it is considering possible options for lifting indoor mask mandates.
The move will put Los Angeles County closer to aligning with the state after California lifted its vaccine mandate last week.
Los Angeles County's rule will only apply to places with coronaviruses vaccination requirements, such as restaurants, bars and gyms, meaning grocery stores and other places that don't require proof of vaccine will still need masks.
Los Angeles is one of California's more strict counties, and it has maintained some of the nation's strictest mask and vaccine requirements. The Los Angeles Unified School District, the state's largest school system, has lifted its outdoor mask mandates despite the fact that California still requires masks in crowded indoor areas. Los Angeles County lifted mask mandates for outdoor events last week. As California's Covid-19 positivity rates continue to dip, the shift away from mandates comes. The average number of positive Covid-19 tests in the last week was 3.6%, compared to 26% a month ago, according to the state's Department of Public Health. The governor of California announced a new plan last week to fight Covid-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends people wear masks indoors in areas with high coronaviruses transmission, even though most states have lifted their mask mandates.
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