LA County Sheriff says mask reauthorization ‘not backed by science’

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Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Friday that his department will not spend resources to enforce the county’s indoor mask mandate, adding that the measure is “not backed by science.”

“Forcing the vaccine and those who have already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not supported by science and goes against US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines,” Villanueva said in a statement.

He said that while the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has the authority to enforce its mandate, “the underfunded/defunded LA County Police Department will not spend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance.”

“We encourage the Department of Public Health to work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors and Law Enforcement to create achievable, science-backed mandates,” he added.

On Thursday, the county’s Department of Public Health issued an authorization for indoor mask use, a measure that applies to everyone regardless of their vaccination status.

The department said the indoor mask mandate is justified because the county saw a sevenfold increase in the number of COVID-19 cases between the time the county reopened on June 15 and Thursday.

According to department data, the county saw 210 new cases on June 15, compared to 1,537 new cases on Thursday, the highest number recorded since mid-March.

“Because of this rapid rise, as well as the increasing presence of the delta variant of the virus that is easily transmitted, and the millions of people potentially at risk of infection, together we must reduce our risk of infection and our potential risk of infecting others,” the ministry said in a press release.

The mandate becomes effective at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, about a month after the county lifted its previous mask mandate.

The latest announcement comes as unvaccinated pockets of the US are seeing a rise in the number of cases due to the highly transmissible delta variant already in India.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 56 percent of the total US population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 48 percent have been fully vaccinated.

Rochelle Walinsky, Director of the CDC Rochelle Walinsky The Night Defense: Milley Reportedly Warned Trump About Iran Strikes | Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer killed in Afghanistan | 70% of active duty military personnel at least partially vaccinated for nighttime health care: CDC director warns of ‘unvaccinated pandemic’ | Biden: Social media platforms are ‘killing people’ Florida accounts for 20 percent of the new cases. Biden asserted: Social media platforms are ‘killing people’. More confirmed that the agency would not change its recommendations for concealment, but said Friday that local officials were encouraged to consider taking precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“These decisions have to be made at the local level,” Walinsky said during a White House briefing. “If you have areas of low vaccination and high infection rates, I would say that local policy makers might consider whether hiding masks at this point would be something good for their community until they raise their vaccination rates.

As it stands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear masks in most places except for places of travel such as planes and trains.

The Hill has reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for comment.

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