LA County urges everyone to wear masks indoors as Delta variable spreads

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As the highly contagious delta coronavirus continues to spread across the state, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is recommending that all residents wear masks in public indoor spaces — regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Monday’s announcement is one of the clearest indications yet of how seriously health officials take the pressure, and the danger it poses, especially to those who haven’t yet been vaccinated.

Officials said the delta variant does not pose a risk to vaccinated people. But there is growing concern for those who have not been vaccinated and who are most at risk. As of last week, 3 in 5 Californians, or 60.5%, had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

While it’s not a new mandate for masks, the county urges, as a precaution, that “people wear masks indoors in places such as grocery or retail stores; theaters, family entertainment centers and workplaces when not everyone’s vaccination status is known.”

“To better understand how and to whom the delta variant is spread, everyone should focus on maximum protection with minimal disruption to routine as all businesses operate without other restrictions, such as physical distance and capacity limits,” officials wrote in a statement.

They added, however, that “fully vaccinated people appear to be well protected from infection with delta forms.”

Officials and experts say the variant, which was first identified in India and is also known as B.1.617.2, may be twice as transmissible as traditional coronavirus strains.

It’s now the third most common type in California — accounting for 14.5% of coronavirus cases analyzed so far in June, up from 4.7% in May.

Los Angeles County has confirmed 123 different cases of Delta as of last week, 49 of which are among Palmdale and Lancaster residents. Fourteen cases of the delta variant were in people from the same family.

“While the COVID-19 vaccine provides highly effective protection, preventing hospitalizations and deaths against the delta variant, the strain has been shown to be more transmissible and is expected to become more prevalent,” County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Wearing masks remains an effective way to reduce transmission, especially indoors where the virus can easily spread through inhalation of aerosols from an infected person.”

At this point, there is no widespread scientific consensus on whether the delta variant is more likely to cause more serious disease than other breeds.

Times Rong-Gong Lin II and Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.

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