Los Angeles County to Require Masks at Outdoor Concerts and Festivals

Los Angeles County will require masks at outdoor events with 10,000 or more attendees, including concerts, festivals and sporting events, as New York Times reports. The mandate, issued by officials on Tuesday, will take effect beginning at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.

The regulation, which arrives in the midst of a surge in Covid-19 cases as the Delta variant continues to spread, applies regardless of if a person has been fully vaccinated or not. Among those affected are large outdoor concert venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, and sports arenas such as Dodger stadium. In July, the county had already reinstated its indoor mask policy, which applies to most indoor public spots both small and large, such as gyms, restaurants, and movie theaters. The order does allow for attendees to briefly remove their masks when eating or drinking.

Los Angeles County is relying on organizers to enforce the new regulations. Cities around the country are implementing stricter mandates to quell the spread of Covid-19. Similarly in Chicago on Tuesday, officials reinstated its mask mandate, requiring them at all indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status, beginning on Friday. San Francisco officials, meanwhile, issued an order for full vaccination proof to enter any indoor public space, which goes into effect on Friday. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also mandated vaccinations for indoor events earlier in the month, that city’s requirements allow for only one dose of the vaccination.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Department of Health reported 2,426 new Covid-19 cases and five deaths, as NBC 4 in Los Angeles reports, who added that there are 1,679 people hospitalized with the virus, 402 of them in intensive care.