“Not backed by science”: Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Friday he will not enforce the new mandatory indoor mask requirement set to take effect this weekend.
QUICK FACTS:
- The indoor mask mandate would apply regardless of a persons’ vaccination status.
- Sheriff Villanueva will not use his department to enforce the mandatory indoor mask requirement which is to take effect on Saturday night, according to Fox News.
- The Sheriff said that forcing those who are vaccinated or who have already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors “is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.”
- The new mandate goes into effect at 11:59 pm on Saturday.
- All indoor spaces—gyms, retail stores, large events, offices, and restaurants—will require mask-wearing.
WHAT SHERIFF VILLANUEVA SAID:
- Villanueva said in a statement that forcing the vaccinated or who have already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors “is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.”
- “The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has authority to enforce the order, but the underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance,” Villanueva added.
- He also said, “We encourage the DPH to work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors and law enforcement to establish mandates that are both achievable and supported by science.”
BACKGROUND:
- On Thursday, the county Department of Public Health reinstated a requirement that masks be worn indoors even by the vaccinated.
- The move comes a month after California dropped its statewide mask mandate for vaccinated people.
- Updated guidance on the CDC website says, “Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”
- The LA County Health Department announced “incentives for receiving the vaccine, saying that starting Friday through July 22, people 18 and older can have a chance at winning grand prizes if they get vaccinated at county-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites,” reports The Epoch Times. “There are seven packages of tickets to attend the Staples Center to certain performances.”
