By Mary O’KEEFE

Facemask mandates for Los Angeles County are still in question as of Tuesday’s meeting of the LA County Board of Supervisors.

The County had seen a slight decrease in COVID-19 numbers as of Tuesday with cases per day down 11% from last week. Test positivity rates remained stable at 15.5%, according to Public Health.

That number increased as of Wednesday, though, with the seven-day positivity average at 16.2%; however, hospitalizations did dip slightly from 1,286 on Tuesday to 1,280 on Wednesday.

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the supervisors at the board meeting that, in the past, the County has seen a drop in cases followed by increases, which is why it is important to stay vigilant and cautious. That caution included “additional protections” including face coverings.

The decision to require a facemask mandate will come at the end of the week; if yes the mandate will be in effect immediately on Friday.

“The number of people severely ill and needing to be hospitalized appears to be stabilizing. Over the last seven days, the average number of COVID-positive patients per day in LA County hospitals was 1,262, very similar to one week ago when the seven-day average number of COVID-positive patients per day was 1,243,” according to a statement from Public Health.

Public Health continues to encourage people to get tested if they have been exposed to COVID-19, have symptoms, before and after large gatherings, and after travel.

“Residents who test positive, even with an at-home test, need to isolate to avoid infecting others. Residents who test negative but have symptoms should remain home and test again in 24-48 hours to be sure they aren’t infected. If a test is still negative, but a person remains ill, they may have another virus/illness. Anyone with symptoms should remain home until they are fever free and symptoms are resolving. Individuals should call their provider if they have concerns about their illness. If an individual does not have a provider, they can call 2-1-1 to get connected to care,” according to Public Health.

A third round of free at-home tests can be ordered from the federal government at www.covidtests.gov.

“I want to note that, since COVID continues to be a leading cause of death in LA County, we should continue to use all tools available to reduce the risk; this includes testing, vaccinating and boosting, accessing therapeutics if eligible and masking when indoors. It is my fervent hope that this current surge will abate soon but, in the meantime, I ask everyone to be cautious and take care of each other, and I thank the many who are doing all they can do to slow the spread,” Ferrer said.

The supervisors voiced their concerns about implementing facemasks. Prior to Tuesday’s meeting Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued an open letter stating her objections to a mask mandate.

 “It is clear that COVID-19, for the foreseeable future, is here to stay. We are learning to live through its countless mutations, spikes in infections and corresponding strains on our hospitals and workforce,” Barger stated in her letter.

“In order to maintain consistency and public trust, I remain committed to advocating for our County to remain aligned with the state’s COVID-19 public health policies.”

She cited that the new wave of COVID-19 that is primarily sparked by the highly infectious BA.5 subvariant is different from others because “we’ve made great progress in getting vaccines and therapeutics to our LA County residents.”

At Tuesday’s meeting Fourth District Supervisor Janet Hahn added her concerns as well for the possible mandate stating she had received thousands of phone calls from people who were “vehemently” against the mandate.

“I believe there is a significant number of the population that is not willing to accept a mandate,” she said.

She agreed with Barger there are more tools that can be used against the virus that were not available at the beginning of the pandemic including anti-viral medication, home test kits and vaccines.

She spoke of small business owners being worried on how to enforce a mask mandate with so many objecting to it.

“Personally, I am worried we are losing the trust of a portion of the population who have been with us,” Hahn said.

She added the majority of LA County residents have been supportive of the mandates and County Public Health requests during the early days of the pandemic through the present time.