LOS ANGELES (KNX) — It's not an April Fool's joke! Both the state and Los Angeles County are dropping COVID-19 vaccination mandates for indoor mega events effective Friday, which affects both sporting events and concerts.
The move is part of the state's Smarter Plan, which outlines how California officials and residents can move forward as the coronavirus pandemic wanes. As with face coverings, COVID-19 vaccines will be "strongly recommended" when attending the mega events.
"This shift acknowledges that while case rates and hospitalizations are declining statewide from their peak during the Omicron surge, indoor mega events continue to involve several factors that increase the risk of transmission of COVID-19," the California Department of Public Health said in a March 17 statement.
"These recommendations will continue to be updated as CDPH continues to assess conditions on an ongoing basis."
As defined by the state, mega events are crowds with more than 1,000 attendees indoors and more than 10,000 attendees outdoors.
Thursday, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that
whenever major mandates are lifted, COVID-19 cases begin to rise.
Her words were confirmed Friday, as the department announced that COVID-19 cases were no longer declining in L.A. County.
The county on Friday reported 1,167 new COVID infections, a great amount higher than the 784 reported on Thursday.
Currently, there are 287 people with COVID-19 hospitalized and 22% of people testing in the county are coming back with COVID-positive results.
BA.2 subvariant increasing in L.A. County
While the BA.2 subvariant is not currently causing any local hospitalization increases, L.A. health officials said they have noticed that a number of new cases are BA.2 infections.
Experts have suggested that BA.2 is at least 30% more contagious than the Omicron variant, which was already substantially more easily spread than the original COVID-19 virus, according to City News Service.
"Along with the increasing circulation of the more- infectious BA.2 subvariant, everyone, especially those who are at elevated risk or live with someone at elevated risk, should wear a high-quality mask and get vaccinated and boosted," Ferrer said.
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