Amid a wave of new COVID-19 cases driven by highly infectious subvariants, hospitalizations in Los Angeles County hospitals have surged to nearly 1,000 – a rise of more than 200 patients in the last four days alone. Given current trends, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (Public Health) announced Thursday that the county may have to reimpose mandatory indoor masking by the end of the month.
“As we face a fresh wave of new rising subvariants, we do remain focused on preparedness for what may come next,” Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said at a press conference on July 7. “LA County, as you all know, is always working on building and maintaining preparedness in the five key areas: surveillance, access to vaccines, access to testing, access to therapeutics, and outbreak management.”
