Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sided with Los Angeles County’s recent measure reinstating mask mandates for all residents inside public spaces regardless of vaccine status, calling it “reasonable” amid the recent uptick in COVID-19 delta variant cases.
The delta variant has emerged as the most common strain of COVID-19 in the United States in recent weeks, accounting for 57% of cases reported between June 20 and July 3, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Areas with higher infection rates share a trend with localities that have fewer vaccination rates, Murthy said, noting there are “millions of people in our country who are not vaccinated.”
“In areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people, or where cases are rising, it’s very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures, like the mask rules that you see coming out in LA,” Murthy told ABC on Sunday, adding, “That’s not contradictory to the guidances the CDC has issued.”
Los Angeles County’s indoor mask mandate went into effect late Saturday but has already been subject to contention, specifically by County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who announced on Friday that his department would “not expend our limited resources” to enforce the order, noting he is asking for “voluntary compliance.”
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF WON’T ENFORCE MASK MANDATE ‘NOT BACKED BY SCIENCE’
When asked if the CDC should change its guidance on masks following new Los Angeles County mandate, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy tells @MarthaRaddatz that “counties certainly have the right to put mitigation measures back in place.” https://t.co/PXkOeejG49 pic.twitter.com/g6bjgTrDlM
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 18, 2021
Villanueva argued that the reinstated mandate “contradicts” CDC guidelines, however, Murthy clarified that the new order is within the bounds of the agency’s health advice.
Murthy said “counties certainly have the right to put mitigation measures back in place,” adding that the CDC will send surge response teams to regions experiencing higher rates of cases.
On June 15, the day the state fully reopened from previous pandemic measures, California reported 1,002 new coronavirus cases. The Golden State reported 4,651 new cases on Friday, according to the state’s coronavirus tracker — a sign of a new surge with the highly transmissible delta variant spreading nationwide.
“We saw this during the last year of the pandemic, that we have large numbers of people gathering in indoor spaces that is the right setup for COVID-19 to spread,” Murthy said.
Sixty-eight percent of adults in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination, according to the latest CDC report.
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At least 12,960 new cases were reported across the U.S. on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The highest concentration of outbreaks was reported in Florida and Southern California.
