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Despite the massive reopening of California’s economy on Tuesday and the relaxation of COVID-19 rules that have been in place for more than a year, many people continued to wear masks in public, saying they felt it was better to be safe than sorry.
At Charlie’s Best Burgers in East Los Angeles, patrons and staff treated California’s reopening day like any other.
The Mexican burger and food chain still requires customers to wear masks and maintain social distancing. The restaurant identified three of its seven stalls as unusable and accommodating 20 customers.
Restaurant general manager Jorge Jimenez, 35, said, “Right now, there are too many non-vaccinated people to ask our customers to wear masks. If you look at the area, it’s been hit hard by COVID-19. It doesn’t make sense to change now. “.
According to county records, more than 25,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in East Los Angeles, along with 432 deaths. This breakdown includes Boyle Heights (17,535 cases and 304 deaths), Lincoln Heights (15,722 cases and 162 deaths) and El Sereno (14,945 cases and 110 deaths).
“We are not able to tell who has been vaccinated and who has not, so this is the best thing to do,” Jimenez said.
When his restaurant first implemented the mask mandate last spring, Jimenez said many customers refused and left. Since then, the protocol has been generally approved by the community.
There were no complaints from customers Tuesday.
Friends Albert Ramon, Kenneth Ruiz and Yerson Henriquez, 19, had taken off their surgical and cloth masks while eating burgers, fries, pancakes and burritos.
“Frankly, I still think it’s too early,” Ramon said of lifting the mask mandate. “I was surprised by the change that was made.”
Henriquez said part of what made the Charles’s Best Burger appealing was that the restaurant still mandated a mask mandate.
“It is strange to walk around and see people without masks because we still need to increase the number of vaccinations,” he said.
Other businesses along South Atlantic Boulevard – La Raza Market, Basket Burger Café and Mi Cabana Restaurant – have also asked customers to continue to wear masks.
Still, Ruiz said it’s “refreshing” not to have to wear a mask all the time, and he’s looking forward to California without a mask.
In Long Beach, Christopher Hodak read the new registered sign outside CoffeeDrunk: “Your safety is important to us. Masks are recommended.”
The 24-year-old continued to drive as he walked inside and ordered his usual iced coffee.
Despite new state rules dropping mask requirements for vaccinated customers in most cases, Hodak said he doesn’t plan to leave his face covering behind any time soon.
“I’m still used to it,” he said, sitting inside the store. “Right now, it’s basically a habit.”
Adam Cyril realized he had forgotten his mask before entering Whole Foods in West Hollywood, and asked an employee if the store could give him a mask.
The employee replied, to Cyril’s astonishment, that he did not need one.
“I felt like I was back as a human being again, and I got some rights back.” Cyril, who was wearing a Sublime T-shirt and sunglasses with diamond-shaped lenses, said.
The 27-year-old only found another woman – a “brave lady” – shopping inside while she was naked. He said it felt new and familiar at the same time, adding that he almost snapped a selfie among the sea of masked shepherds.
“I actually felt like, ‘Boom, am I in a time vortex?'” Did you just get back in time? “I didn’t realize what was happening.”
For the past year, the Manhattan Beach resident has been commuting almost daily to his construction job near the upscale market on Fairfax Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. It was difficult for him to drive for long periods wearing a mask, which he said irritated his nose and caused acne on his face.
He said that it was a relief to know that face coverings can be removed in most places.
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