Lupita Arrayales, a student at Cal State Los Angeles University, who uses the bus and the subway to go to classes, took with a very good attitude the order of the Los Angeles Department of Public Health that maintains the mandatory use of masks on public transportation within the county.
“I think it’s good because you don’t know when you get on the subway or the bus if other people might be sick. Then we spend a lot of time sitting; and sometimes, the environment is very closed and concentrated. There is no ventilation “, she says.
And she adds that you cannot keep social distance nor is there a limit on the number of people who can go up.
“Then there is always a possibility of contagion; and although the mask is not everything to stop the covid, somehow, one feels protected”.
The county public health order requires all Angelenos to from 2 years of age and regardless of vaccination status must wear the mask on trains, buses, taxis and shared transport vehicles.
But it is also required in airports, bus stations, trains, subways, ports and other port terminals or indoor areas that serve as transportation hubs.
In a statement they announced that Public Health will reassess the requirement for indoor masks when community transmission of Covid-19 in Los Angeles County is reduced at a moderate level; or, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that masks are not needed to protect public health.
At this time, the CDC has determined that the use of masks in transportation remains an essential step to prevent the spread of covid-19.
Only Monday, the federal judge of Florida, Kathryn Kimball had struck down the federal mandate that required the use of masks on planes and public transport, leaving their employment to the discretion of travelers, at a time when cases are on the rise nationwide.
The Transportation Security Administration said they would not make mask use mandatory while the Biden administration considers appealing the decision to The judge.
The Director of the LA County Department of Public Health , Dr. Bárbara Ferrer, said that public transportation centers that are indoors are places where people mix a lot, very often they get crowded; and in some of these places, he pointed out that it is really difficult to have adequate ventilation.
“Keeping this requirement in place is necessary for the health of the public, and that makes sense to us.”
The Metropolitan Transportation Agency responded by saying that they will ask passengers from Metrolink that once again put on the masks on trains and platforms starting Friday 22 of April.
Just on Monday, in compliance with a federal mandate, they had lifted the order of the strict use of masks.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as necessary to comply with passenger safety,” they said in a statement.
The 30 in April, the county Public Health Department reported that on that day, 12 new deaths and 2, 056 positive cases of covid. Of the deceased persons, had pre-existing health conditions.
In total so far in the pandemic, 2 have been registered,721,799 positive cases of covid in the county of Los Angeles.
Currently, there are 219 people hospitalized in Los Angeles.
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Aureliano Sánchez, also a student at Cal State Los Angeles, who uses two trains and one bus 4 days a week to commute to his campus from the city of Glendale, said he has never stopped wearing a mask when traveling on public transportation.
“As far as I know, we have always been asked to wear a mask . They have never stopped, “he said.
He mentioned, however, that it seems good to him that they continue to ask for the mask, although what gives him security is being fully vaccinated.
“I am aware that I can catch Covid in the Metro or on the bus, but I know that I will not die of Covid because I have received the two doses of the vaccine and the booster”.
Miguel Cañada, who is now at home and does not work, says that he uses public and shared transport as the Uber to go to the doctor and run errands.
“For me, it is good that they keep asking us for the mask. It’s for my own health and that of other people”.
But some are not happy.
Hallie Back, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said Los Angeles County and California Democrats love to make rules just because they can, but then they don’t follow them.
“They don’t seem to realize that Californians are tired of the Covid regulations, but as long as they continue to ignore them, the Republicans will be there to fulfill the will of the people.”