L.A. County Public Health announced that employers will have to provide employees with high quality, non-cloth masks when working indoors, or situations where they come into close contact with others.

Falling under that criteria are medical grade masks, surgical masks, N95, or KN95 masks.

The modification to the mask mandate begins January 17, but Public Health encourages employers to provide employees with masks sooner.

“Public Health has modified its Health Officer Order to include additional safety measures to reduce transmission risks knowing that vaccinations alone are not sufficient to prevent spread of Omicron,”L.A. Public Health said in a press release. “These upgraded masks are better at blocking virus particles from going through the mask.”

Another modification to the L.A. Public Health Officer Order asks organizers of “mega events,” movie theaters and entertainment venues to designate separate eating areas.

A modification will also extend to indoor casinos, where masks will be required to be worn at all times, except when at a designated eating area.

These L.A. Public health announcements come just as California extended its indoor mask mandate until February 15, after previously being set to expire on January 15. Until then, masks will be required to be worn indoors at all times.

California Public Health said the extension was triggered by the recent surge in positive COVID-19 cases, which have increased by 410% since November 25, 2021. In that same time, COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased by 63% in the state.

 

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