City Of West Hollywood: City Of West Hollywood COVID-19 Update: LA County Department Of Public Health To Modify Indoor Mask Requirements ...

Press release from the City of West Hollywood:

February 24, 2022 6:36 PM

The City of West Hollywood is getting the word out that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has revised its Health Officer Order to allow establishments, businesses, and venues verifying vaccination status to offer optional masking for fully vaccinated individuals. The modified Health Officer Order will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, February 25, 2022.

“The LA County Health Officer Order is good news and demonstrates that community transmission of COVID-19 is dropping and that we’re moving, as a region, out of the Omicron variant surge,” said City of West Hollywood Mayor Lauren Meister. “As requirements change, it remains ever-important that we all take steps to keep our vaccinations up-to-date and that we all get tested when feeling symptoms of COVID-19. Staying safe and reducing the spread of COVID-19 is something we can all still do, together.”

According to LA County Public Health, given lower hospital admissions and the effectiveness of the vaccines in reducing severe illness, changes in the Health Officer Order will allow establishments, businesses, or venues two options for removing masking requirements for fully vaccinated individuals:

Option 1: Starting Friday, February 25, 2022: establishments, businesses, or venues that want to allow fully vaccinated customers and workers to unmask while indoors must:

• Verify that 100% of customers (5 and older) and workers prior to, or upon, entry to indoor spaces:

Those who are not fully vaccinated or do not show proof of vaccination are required to provide a negative test and continue wearing a well-fitting mask while indoors (as required by the state), except when actively eating or drinking.

Option 2: Starting Friday, February 25, 2022: establishments, businesses, or venues that want to allow their fully vaccinated customers to unmask indoors while all onsite workers remain masked, must:

• Verify that 100% of customers (5 and older) prior to, or upon, entry to indoor spaces:

• Adhere to the following regarding customers and masking:

Despite revised Health Officer Order requirements, mask-wearing continues to be a simple and highly effective way to reduce risk. In addition, any individual showing proof of full vaccination prior to entering may still choose to wear a mask indoors.

While the revised LA County Health Officer Order requires people who are not fully vaccinated or do not show proof of vaccination to continue wearing a well-fitting mask while indoors except when actively eating or drinking, the City of West Hollywood maintains a Vaccine Verification Requirements policy for indoor patrons and staff at covered business, which are generally defined as establishments where food or drink is served indoors; health/fitness facilities; and personal care establishments.

For more information from the City of West Hollywood regarding Vaccine Verification Requirements, please visit www.weho.org/services/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccination-verification-requirements.

For more information from LA County Public Health regarding revisions to mask-wearing requirements for fully vaccinated individuals, please visit the business toolkit for Lifting of Indoor Masking Requirement for Fully Vaccinated Customers and Fully Vaccinated Workers.

According to LA County Public Health, vaccines remain highly effective at slowing COVID-19 spread and preventing severe illness. For the week ending February 12, County residents who were unvaccinated were more than two-and-a-half times more likely to be infected when compared to individuals who were fully vaccinated. When comparing unvaccinated individuals with those vaccinated and fully boosted, unvaccinated people were nearly four times more likely to be infected. The vaccine also continues to provide very strong protection against hospitalization and death.

Public Health officials continue to remind the public that getting vaccinated, getting boosted, getting tested, and masking-up as preventive steps remain critical in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone five-years-old and older to help protect against COVID-19. To find a vaccination site or to make an appointment, please visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com.

COVID-19 testing remains widely available across LA County. Residents should first call their healthcare provider for a COVID-19 test. For people who cannot get a test through a healthcare provider, free testing is available. For additional information, please visit https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing.

Los Angeles County coordinates a COVID-19 West Hollywood testing site at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard. The testing site is open each week from Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is adjacent to the Community Center in the South Parking Lot. Tests are being administered by Fulgent Genetics and advance appointments must be made at la.fulgentgenetics.com. People getting tests should bring ID and confirmation number to the appointment.

Los Angeles County Health Services has launched a Pick-Up COVID-19 Testing Kit program that allows residents to pick up a PCR test kit and return it at designated locations, which include the COVID-19 West Hollywood testing site at Plummer Park. There is also a Pick-Up Testing Kit program at 14 LA County library sites including West Hollywood Library.

Additional information, such as links to West Hollywood-area drug store chains offering vaccinations, is available on the City of West Hollywood’s website at www.weho.org/coronavirus in the Vaccines and Testing Information section.

The City of West Hollywood remains in a declared local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. West Hollywood City Hall is open for in-person transactions by appointment. Visitors to City Hall and City facilities are required to adhere to vaccine verification requirements. Click here for details. To make an appointment, visit www.weho.org/appointments. City Hall services remain accessible by phone at (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org. City of West Hollywood coronavirus information is available at www.weho.org/coronavirus.

For up-to-date news and events, follow the City of West Hollywood on social media @WeHoCity, sign up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please contact the LA County Department of Public Health Chief Communications Officer, Carl A. Kemp, at (213) 240-8144 or media@ph.lacounty.gov.

slunn@weho.org

This press release was produced by the City of West Hollywood. The views expressed here are the author’s own.