Beverly Hills Will Not Enforce A Potential County Masking Mandate

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — The Beverly Hills City Council unanimously voted not to enforce an impending Los Angeles County indoor masking mandate this week.

Another indoor masking mandate has loomed over Los Angeles since the county entered the Center for Disease Control's "high" level of COVID-19 transmission. Should the county stay in the high level for two consecutive weeks, an indoor masking mandate would likely be triggered. The County is expected to reach that point Thursday, meaning a county-wide indoor masking mandate could fall into place by Friday.

The council on Monday voted not to enforce the mandate if the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health decides to put one in place. Given recent transmission and hospitalization trends, though, the county could reconsider the looming mandate, authorities said at a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

Should Beverly Hills forgo implementing the mandate, Beverly Hills businesses and residents would still run the risk of enforcement from Los Angeles County officials, according to City Attorney Larry Weiner. Businesses could still face fines or other consequences because violating a health order is a state law misdemeanor, he said.

In response to Beverly Hills' decision, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health told Patch that if a mask requirement returns, the department "will continue to inform local officials of the current status of COVID-19 and the safety recommendations and requirements in Los Angeles County."

"The Department of Public Health thanks the City of Beverly Hills for the support and assistance it has provided to protect the health of the public during this COVID-19 pandemic," the department said in a statement to Patch. "This year, COVID-19 alone has claimed more than 4,000 lives in Los Angeles County, higher than the 6-month average total of deaths from drug overdoses, influenza (during a pre-pandemic year), and motor vehicle accidents combined."

Ahead of the council's decision, dozens of community members weighed in on the topic. For around two and a half hours, city leaders heard from 75 speakers and previously submitted public comments.

The tone of Monday's meeting was incredibly tense and the crowd at times became rowdy. Bosse reminded the audience at least a dozen times throughout the four-hour meeting to hold their applause and audible responses to public comments — to no avail.

Many public commenters were concerned with the effect a mandate could have on local businesses and school age children. That being said, city council does not make masking decisions for local schools, the Beverly Hills Unified School district would, city staff noted.

"Under the possible health order, businesses would be required to offer employees masks and notify them of mask-wearing requirements. Additionally, businesses would be obligated to put up signage letting customers know about indoor masking," an agenda report prepared before the meeting by staff for the city of Beverly Hills said.

Impassioned public speakers repeatedly said the mask mandate is a a power grab by an illegitimate public health department and would "violate [Beverly Hills] constituents' constitutional rights."

Despite many commenters' claims that there is no data to show mask-wearing has an effect on case rates, Mayor Pro Tem Julian Gold reaffirmed that masks do provide protection.

"Consistent use of a face mask or respirator in indoor public settings was associated with lower odds of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result," the CDC said on its website, summarizing the results of a study analyzing data between February and December 2021. "Use of respirators with higher filtration capacity was associated with the most protection, compared with no mask use."

"Even a poorly fitted mask gives you some protection that you wouldn't have if you weren't wearing a mask," Gold said. "It's not about you, it's about whoever's talking to you or whoever you're next to. I think there's adequate evidence that suggests that mask-wearing does make a difference. It will not protect everybody all the time, and nothing will. ... There are certain things that are just true. The earth is not flat, masks work, vaccines work."

Two public speakers expressed support for a mask mandate, saying many Beverly Hills residents, like the elderly, are at a greater risk.

Ultimately, council members agreed the city should opt to allow Beverly Hills residents and businesses to choose whether or not they would like to wear mask. Many agreed the city is in a different place than it was early in the pandemic.

“I feel it is our job to lead and I support the power of choice,” Mayor Lili Bosse said. “Our job is to be proactive and public about what we believe. This is a united City Council and community that cares about health. We are not where we were in 2020, and now we need to move forward as a community and be part of the solution.”

She and other council members went back and forth multiple times with audience members who yelled out outside of the designated public comment section. Council members often found it difficult to get even a few sentences out without interruption.

"You know, people would give you more credibility if you'd learn to listen to them, because right now you have none," Gold said, responding to an interruption from an audience member.

The council has long been considering creating its own public health department, details for which will come before the council in August, city staff said Monday.