LOS ANGELES — With coronavirus-positive hospitalizations in Los Angeles County on the rise, officials said the nation's most populous county could be poised to see a new universal indoor mask mandate later this month if the upward trends continue.
"Our weekly case rate and the rate of increase in hospital admissions are of concern," L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday. "If we continue on the current trajectory … we're likely to move into the CDC high [COVID-19] community level within a few weeks towards the end of June, indicating increased stress on the healthcare system."
The concerns come as Alameda County, the Bay Area's second-most populous county and home to Oakland, ordered a new mask mandate in most indoor spaces effective Friday, citing worsening coronavirus cases and rising rates of hospitalizations. That makes Alameda the first county in California to issue a universal indoor mask order since the end of the winter omicron surge.
