CA Will Not Immediately Lift Mask Mandate For Schools; Will Reassess On Feb. 28
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — California will not immediately drop its mask-wearing requirement in schools.
State Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced the decision during a Monday afternoon news conference.
However, Ghaly said the state will do a reassessment on Feb. 28 of COVID-19 case rates and other pandemic metrics.
He said the school mask mandate will eventually be lifted, saying it's "a question of when."
"There will be no change in the making requirement but on February 28th," Ghaly said. "Two weeks from now we will reassess the data and we will look at the information on case rates, confirm case numbers will continue to come down."
On Wednesday, the statewide mask-wearing requirement for vaccinated people will be lifted for most indoor public spaces. Masks will still be required for everyone, however, in schools, on public transit, in health care facilities and in airports.
However, despite the state action, Los Angeles County will still maintain its own local regulation. L.A. County's own indoor mask-wearing mandate will remain for at least several more weeks, the county's Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said at an L.A. County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Meanwhile Monday, L.A. County reported 26 new COVID-19 deaths and 2,457 new cases. The county also reported that there are currently 2,054 COVID-positive patients hospitalized.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
