Churchgoers Respond To County's Latest Indoor-Services Mask Requirement

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Some places of worship, like the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, are once again requiring parishioners to wear face-coverings in compliance with LA County's latest mask mandate.

The mandate requires all county residents to wear masks in indoor settings regardless vaccination status, and Sunday morning mass attendees were some of the first people in the county to don face coverings after the mandate's rollout at 11:59 p.m. Saturday.

"We thought we were getting back to normal and now we're not so much normal. So, we'll just deal with this and just continue on," Mike Psomas, a parishioner said Sunday morning, outside of the cathedral.

Guy Estacio, another parishioner, said she thinks masking indoors is good, so that people are protected.

The latest county requirement comes after nearly a month of being able to go mask-free during indoor services.

"Probably half of the people still wore the masks," Psomas said, "but I didn't. So, this is the first time I'm wearing a mask again."

Fred Wimberley said he thinks the mask mandate is a good protective strategy until experts can get to the bottom of the new, more contagious, Delta variant, widely considered to be the reason so many unvaccinated people are coming down with the virus.

Psomas and others, though, said they were disappointed with the change in policy.

"I'm very surprised. I don't really understand why we're doing this, but that's what they're telling us we have to do and if that's what we have to do, then that's what we'll do," Psomas said.

Some churches in LA County have defied the mask orders before. Grace Community Church in Sun Valley fought the health guidelines last summer through the court, eventually get help from a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the indoor services mask requirement.

It's possible that some places of worship will pushback on the new mask mandate and enforcing the new requirement will likely create new issues.

Despite any upcoming controversies, health officials are saying this is what's needed right now to keep everyone safe.