Los Angeles County Health officials are open to reimposing mask mandates, Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, made clear last week.
During a press conference last week, county health officials announced that there has been a spike in average cases over the last month, jumping from a daily average of roughly 264 cases to 571. They warned that there could be more as well, as they do not know the results of everyone who takes home tests.
While officials said no new measures would be imposed at this time, Ferrer made it abundantly clear that they are open to reimposing mask mandates in the future. In other words, such restrictions are never off the table in Los Angeles County.
“‘Ever’ is not a word I’m comfortable with,” she said when asked if they would ever force masking again, as they have in the past.
“There’s not that level of certainty with this pandemic. I’m never going to say there’s not going to be a time when we all need to put our masks back on,” she said.
“I am going to say we certainly don’t all need to put our masks back on now. We are at a place where people make their own assessment,” she continued, leaving the door open for mask mandates in the future.
RELATED — Jerry Nadler Says 2-Year-Olds Should Have Worn Masks During Pandemic: “Child Abuse” to Do Otherwise
C-SPANThe news comes as some workplaces and schools have courted mask mandates yet again. In August, Atlanta’s Morris Brown College came under fire for reimposing mask mandates for two weeks “due to reports of positive cases among students in the Atlanta University Center.”
Mask mandates also returned to Hollywood, as Lionsgate became the first major studio to reinstate masking and daily testing for its Los Angeles office workers. However, that mandate has since been lifted. However, according to Deadline, “The announcement was made after Los Angeles County Department of Public Health informed the company that it could lift the mask requirement following days of no new infections.”
Despite that, New York health officials are slowly warming up to masks again, advising individuals to wear masks in crowded areas.
“As cases rise, precautions become increasingly important, especially for our most vulnerable New Yorkers who are older, disabled, or have underlying health conditions,” New York City health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.
“Staying up to date with Covid vaccines, along with other proven prevention tools — like masking, testing, and staying home when sick — continues to be our best defense against Covid and other respiratory viruses.”
RELATED: Joe Biden Removes Mask and Coughs into Hand After Close Contact with Coronavirus
The White HouseFormer President Donald Trump recently made it clear that Americans will “NOT COMPLY” with another push for lockdowns, mask mandates, or vaccine rules, making the statement last week in a video posted to Truth Social amid the seemingly newfound push for restrictions.
“The left wing lunatics are trying very hard to bring back COVID lockdowns and mandates with all of their sudden fear-mongering about the new variants that are coming,” Trump said.
“You know what else is coming? An election,” Trump observed. “They want to restart the COVID hysteria so they can justify more lockdowns, more censorship, more illegal dropboxes, more mail in ballots and trillions of dollars in payoffs to their political allies heading into the 2024 election,” Trump said, asking, “Does that sound familiar?”
“These are bad people. These are sick people we’re dealing with,” he continued, adding, “To every COVID tyrant who wants to take away our freedom, hear these words: We will not comply, so don’t even think about it.”
“We will not shut down our schools. We will not accept your lockdowns. We will not abide by your mask mandates, and we will not tolerate your vaccine mandates,” Trump added.
