Jul 18, 2021 - Politics & Policy

L.A. County official says new mask mandate is "not punishment, it's prevention"

Yacob Reyes

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis told ABC's "This Week," Sunday that while the county's latest mask mandate isn't ideal, she recognizes it is necessary.

Driving the news: The mandate, which requires people to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, went into effect Saturday. The L.A. county sheriff said Friday he wouldn't enforce the policy because the county's decision was "not backed by science."

The masking order comes amid rising coronavirus cases in the county. The country reported 1,537 new cases Friday and 1,827 on Saturday.

The California Department of Public Health and the CDC maintain that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks indoors, per the Los Angeles Times.

What they're saying: "I would say that it's not punishment, it's prevention," Solis said. "We still have 4 million people out of 10 million that haven't been vaccinated."

"We as responsible adults should be taking a proactive approach and making sure that we mask up," she added.
"I'm not pleased that we have to go back to using the masks in this manner, but, nonetheless, it's going to save lives and right now, that to me, is what's most important."

Go deeper: L.A. County sheriff won't enforce mask mandate because it is "not backed by science"

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L.A. County official says new mask mandate is "not punishment, it's prevention"

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