Los Angeles health officials yesterday recommended everyone, whether they are vaccinated or not, practice indoor mask-wearing because of the increased spread of the highly communicable Delta variant.
A CBS Los Angeles report specified that according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the COVID-19 Delta variants comprised almost half of all variants sequenced locally in the week ended June 12.
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that the said variants are now accountable for about one in every five new infections across the nation, up from roughly one in 10 a week before.
Because of the variant's spread rate, first identified in India, health officials have released a strong recommendation for people practicing indoor mask-wearing in various settings like grocery or retail stores, theaters, workplaces, and family entertainment centers where vaccination status is not instantaneously known.
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Los Angeles health officials recommended every one, whether they are vaccinated or not, practice indoor mask-wearing because of the increased spread of the highly communicable Delta variant.
The Delta Variant
Until there is a better understanding of how and to whom the delta variant is transmitting, everyone needs to focus on a maximum shield with minimal disruption to routine as all businesses are operating minus other restrictions such as physical distancing and capacity limits department in a statement it released.
According to Public Health, fully vaccinated people seemed to be well-protected from infection with the COVID-19 Delta variants, although those who have only a single dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were not as well shielded.
Yesterday, LA County reported 259 new COVID-19 cases and three new deaths, leading the whole county to more than 1.2 million positive COVID-19 cases and over 24,400 deaths. On top of these, there were more than 230 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
Health officials explained, the low number of COVID-19 cases and deaths were likely because of delays in weekend reporting.
With testing results available for over seven million people, the overall positivity rate of individuals was 17 percent. The daily test positive rate, on the other hand, was 0.9 percent.
Wearing Mask Indoors Regardless of Vaccination Status
An article posted on Yahoo! Life, as the COVID-19 Delta variant rapidly becomes the most dominant variant of the virus all over the world, the World Health Organization announced late last week that even individuals who have been fully vaccinated need to continue COVID-19-specific safety measures, which include wearing medical face masks and physical distancing when around others.
This announcement takes place after many other government officials and health organizations suggested that masks, whether indoors or outdoors, are no longer needed for those who are fully vaccinated in the US, and such a suggestion resulted in confusion.
In May this year, in the guideline memo titled "When You've Been Fully Vaccinated," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated people could continue with the activities they were doing before the pandemic.
Such activities, the CDC said, included taking part in activities minus mask-wearing or physically and socially distancing, except where needed by local, state, federal, territorial, or tribal rules and regulations, which included workplace and local business guidance.
The CDC also explained that people who have been fully vaccinated do not need to get tested before or after each travel. They do not need to self-quarantine either, after their trip within the US, and they do not need to stay away as well from others or get tested unless they feel any symptoms.
A related report is shown on NBC News's YouTube video below:
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