The USA seems to be currently facing a new wave of COVID infections, according to data reported by worldometers.info, and the scenario made the officials look for solutions. The Department of Public Health from Los Angeles County has reinstated an indoor mask mandate, but even so, not everyone agrees with the measure.
HuffPost announces that Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says that his department won’t enforce the indoor mask mandate. This comes in the context of COVID-19 cases that are soaring in the area.
Not backed by science?
In a statement issued on Friday and as quoted by HuffPost, the sheriff said that he “will not expend our limited resources” for enforcing the new order. Villanueva also added, as quoted by the same publication:
Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
.@lapublichealth has authority to enforce a new mask order, but the underfunded/defunded will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance. Read my full statement by visiting https://t.co/DVBvmRbFA9 pic.twitter.com/Je1nMerWrO
— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) July 16, 2021
The World Health Organization still believes it’s a great idea for vaccinated people to continue wearing masks. According to the Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis, there are alarming increases in cases, hospitalizations and positivity rates that require immediate action for slowing the spread of COVID. He adds that otherwise, more devastating illnesses and deaths for millions of residents can occur.
According to Los Angeles Times, the county has seen the highest daily COVID numbers in months for Friday and Saturday.
If we take a look at the overall numbers from the US, even though the country is still facing a decrease in COVID cases and deaths compared to how the situation was in March and April, there are still tens of thousands of infections reported almost every day.
Also, according to worldometers.info, the ongoing COVID pandemic has caused over 190.9 million infections and more than 4.1 million deaths worldwide since the initial outbreak of the virus.
