Los Angeles County Requiring Masks Indoors Again For Everyone Starting Saturday Night; L.A. Now In “Substantial” Spread Category

“This is an all hands on deck moment,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis. “We’re seeing the rates go up too high. We all need to do our part to try and prevent the need to do something else.”

In light of those factors, Davis announced on Thursday that the county was again issuing a health officer order requiring all residents to wear masks in indoor public spaces. The order will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. this Saturday.

More from Deadline

• Los Angeles Covid Cases Up 500% Over Past Month; Test Positivity Rises Nearly 700% As Delta Variant Takes Hold

• California Hit By 1,000 Case Jump In New Covid Infections Over 24 Hours, From 3,611 On Thursday To 4,651 On Friday

• WME To Close L.A. Office For A Week As New Mask Mandate Kicks In Saturday Amidst Delta Variant Surge

He said the order, which he himself is responsible for signing, “will be similar” to masking requirements the county had in place before its June 15 reopening. Sacramento-area health officials announced a similar order earlier in the day.

Asked if there is potential for further restrictions Davis said, “Everything is on the table if things continue to get worse. The next level is ‘High Transmission,’ and that’s not a place that we want be. We can’t wait for this to go higher before we act.”

The Health Officer walked through L.A.’s most recent numbers and noted that the county’s case rate per 100,000 people is now 7.1. That puts the region in the “Substantial” category of spread, according to the CDC. (It’s worth noting that 7.1 would also put L.A. in the same category of Governor Gavin Newsom’s onetime Blueprint for a Safer Economy tiers, which ended on June 15.)

<img class="size-large wp-image-1234794084" src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?w=1024&quot; alt="." width="1024" height="579" srcset="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png 1830w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=150,85 150w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=300,170 300w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=1024,579 1024w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=1536,868 1536w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=600,338 600w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=125,70 125w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=450,253 450w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=250,140 250w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=296,166 296w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=248,139 248w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=200,112 200w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=270,152 270w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=60,34 60w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=352,199 352w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=110,62 110w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=285,161 285w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=320,181 320w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=640,362 640w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=800,452 800w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.02.52-PM.png?resize=1280,723 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

The mandate means all customers will again be required to mask up when entering any indoor public establishment, including retail shops, grocery stores, restaurants and workplaces. Davis said indoor dining will remain open, but customers will have to remain masked while they are not eating or drinking.

The more transmissible Delta variant is now 71% of all sequences in L.A. County, said Davis. Given that, the fact that slightly under 4 million of L.A.’s residents remain completely unvaccinated makes the potential for spread high.

<img class="size-large wp-image-1234794103" src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?w=1024&quot; alt="." width="1024" height="573" srcset="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png 1788w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=150,84 150w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=300,168 300w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=1024,573 1024w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=1536,859 1536w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=125,70 125w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=660,370 660w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=450,253 450w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=250,140 250w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=380,212 380w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=296,166 296w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=248,139 248w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=200,112 200w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=270,152 270w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=60,34 60w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=352,197 352w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=110,62 110w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=285,159 285w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=320,179 320w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=640,358 640w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=800,447 800w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.12.33-PM.png?resize=1280,716 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

While 61% of county residents over 16 are vaccinated, 13% of the county’s population is under 12 and so not eligible for inoculation. In fact, when the county’s entire 10 million residents are included, only about 51% of them have been fully vaccinated. (Health officials say herd immunity requires that 70-85% of a population be vaccinated.) Thus, as the unvaccinated in L.A. tend to be much younger, more young people are getting sick than before.

“We’re seeing cases in children and younger adults rising,” Davis warned, before noting that adults getting vaccinated helps protect unvaccinated children who live with them.

In fact, the 7-day case rate per 100,000 is rising most rapidly among L.A. residents between the ages of 18 and 29, which means they are likely driving the surge. See the green line on the graph below which charts those rates from June-July.

<img class="size-large wp-image-1234794188" src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?w=1024&quot; alt="." width="1024" height="558" srcset="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png 1850w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=150,82 150w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=300,163 300w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=1024,558 1024w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=1536,837 1536w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=60,33 60w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=352,192 352w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=110,60 110w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=285,155 285w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=320,174 320w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=640,349 640w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=800,436 800w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-15-at-2.18.16-PM.png?resize=1280,697 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

The county recorded 1,537 new cases on Thursday. That’s the highest daily number since early March and up from 1,315 on Wednesday and 1,103 on Tuesday. Those rising numbers are being identified even as testing has dropped precipitously.

Thursday was the seventh consecutive day cases topped 1,000. For perspective, one month ago the 5-day average of cases was 201. On Tuesday, the 5-day average was 1,095; this is an increase of more than 500% in just one month.

A more reliable number, the 7-day average test positivity rate, had increased nearly 700% from the 0.5% seen a month ago to Tuesday’s 3.4%. On Sunday it was 2.4%, so it rose over 40% in 48 hours alone. On Thursday, test positivity reached 3.75%.

The number of people hospitalized in the county due to Covid topped 400 for the first time since early May on Thursday. That number has been climbing steadily for the past three weeks, and is now double the count reported when Covid health restrictions were lifted statewide on June 15.

Asked how long the order might stay in place, Davis emphasized that the spread of infections has the county nowhere near a return to normal.

“This is not the same situation as June 15,” he said. “We were at a low level when we reopened. This is a very different situation from where we were when restrictions were lifted.”

City News Service contributed to this report.

Best of Deadline

• Broadway Returns: A Complete, Updated Roster Of Opening Dates, Venues And How To Buy Tickets

• U.S. Covid-19 Update: More Transmissible Delta Variant Now 20% Of New Cases; Kids Most At Risk

• Summer Premiere Dates For New & Returning TV Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.