Hermosa Beach Aligns Mask Requirements With LA Health Order

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

May 6, 2021

Hermosa Beach City Manager Suja Lowenthal signed an executive order on Friday that brings Hermosa Beach’s mask requirements into alignment with L.A. County’s new mask-wearing guidelines and will ensure the City continues to adjust its requirements in response to future changes in the L.A. County Public Health Officer Order.

The County Public Health Officer Order and the City’s new executive order allow fully vaccinated people to gather or conduct activities outdoors without wearing a mask when alone, when they are with members of their household and when they are with a small group of people who are not fully vaccinated and not at high risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19.

Under the County order and the City’s new executive order, fully vaccinated people must still wear masks at crowded outdoor events, in crowded spaces where physical distance is not feasible and when it is not known if everyone in the space is fully vaccinated. They are also required to continue to wear masks in indoor public settings unless expressly permitted by the County Health Order, at worksites and businesses and in any setting where masking is required by the facility operator or business or by the County Health Order or its protocols.

Fully vaccinated people must continue to maintain a distance of at least six feet from non-household members when leaving their homes.

The City had previously required face coverings over the nose and mouth in the most crowded parts of town, including Downtown Hermosa Beach, Pier Plaza, all City Parks, the Strand, Greenbelt and Beach when out of the water.

“COVID-19 cases continue to decline in California and more than half the people eligible for vaccines have received at least one dose,” said City Manager Suja Lowenthal. “However, the disease can still spread rapidly through person-to-person contact and more contagious variants are present in the County. Such precautions as face masks and social distancing are still very important for curbing the virus’s spread.”

The Hermosa Beach City Council will be asked to confirm the executive order at its May 13 meeting, the effect of which would make violation of the County guidelines punishable by an administration citation issued by the City.

The City of Hermosa Beach has also scheduled its second COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Friday at the Hermosa Beach Community Center at 710 Pier Avenue. For those who received their first doses at the Hermosa Beach Clinic on April 13, the City will be offering the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and individuals should have already received a second appointment time. First doses of the vaccine will be administered that same day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community Center.

Anyone age 16 or older is eligible and must make an appointment. Young people who are ages 16 and 17 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Please visit the City’s website to register and get more information.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health has also reported that the County likely will enter into the least restrictive yellow tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. If the County moves to the yellow tier next week, the Department said that a modified Health Officer Order will be posted on Wednesday and will go into effect on Thursday.

Moving into the yellow tier allows for increases in capacity in many sectors and allows bars to begin providing indoor service at 25% capacity. The sectors with increases in capacity limits include amusement parks and fairs, gyms and fitness centers, yoga studios, private events, bars, hotels and short-term lodging rentals, private gatherings, breweries, indoor playgrounds, restaurants, cardrooms and racetracks, indoor and outdoor live events and performances, wineries and tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, and museums, zoos and aquariums. The L.A. County Department of Public Health noted that all these changes will still require safety modifications, including masking, distancing and infection control to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

This press release was produced by the City of Hermosa Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.