West Hollywood City Council Approves Resolution To Align With Updated Los Angeles County Public

Press release from the City of West Hollywood:

May 5, 2021

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health revised its Health Officer Order effective Friday, April 30, 2021, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance regarding the use of face coverings on April 27, 2021.

On Monday, May 3, 2021, the City Council of the City of West Hollywood approved a Resolution terminating and superseding the City of West Hollywood’s regulations requiring members of the public to wear face coverings, thereby immediately aligning the City’s policies with updated regulations issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Updated LA County guidance provides different recommendations for “Unvaccinated” people — defined by the CDC as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and “Fully Vaccinated” people — defined by the CDC as those who have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks or more after they have received the second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two weeks or more after they have received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“The City of West Hollywood is encouraged by new CDC guidelines regarding use of masks and we are doing everything we can to quickly align with LA County to ensure that regulations are simple to understand and follow for everyone,” said City of West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath. “Let’s all remember, when we’re in dense outdoor crowds such as concerts and when we’re in indoor public spaces such as drug stores and grocery stores, masks are still required whether you’re vaccinated or not. We’re finally at a stage of the pandemic where there’s a good supply of vaccine availability. Getting back to normal means we must all do our part to get vaccinated and to encourage people we know to get vaccinated. No matter which vaccine you choose, please get vaccinated.”

The LA County Health Officer Order, with certain exceptions, allows Fully Vaccinated people to conduct activities outdoors without wearing a mask when alone, when with members of their household, and when with a small group of people who are either Fully Vaccinated or who are not Fully Vaccinated but not at high risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19.

Fully Vaccinated people and Unvaccinated people must still wear masks, as follows:

1. At crowded outdoor events;
2. In crowded spaces where physical distance is not feasible and it is not known if everyone in the space is Fully Vaccinated;
3. In indoor public settings unless expressly permitted by the LA County Health Officer Order;
4. At worksites and businesses; and
5. In any setting where masking is required by the facility operator or business or by the LA County Health Officer Order or its protocols.

Unvaccinated people are still advised to wear a mask when attending outdoor gatherings and while dining at outdoor restaurants with friends from multiple households. All people – both Unvaccinated and Fully Vaccinated – must continue to maintain a distance of six feet from others when in public settings.

Details of the revised Health Officer Order are available on the LA County Public Health website: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus.

COVID-19 daily case counts and hospitalizations have been decreasing in the state and region, but the potential for community transmission remains a top concern for local health officials. Surges in other parts of the country and internationally, as well as concerns about COVID-19 variants, signal the need to remain vigilant about using face coverings, maintaining social distance, and frequently washing hands and using hand sanitizers.

Health officials urge all people to get vaccinated. Residents ages 16 and older with internet access are urged to use www.VaccinateLACounty.com to sign up for a vaccination appointment. For people without access to a computer or the Internet, or people with disabilities, an LA County call center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to help schedule appointments at (833) 540-0473.

Additional information, such as links to West Hollywood-area drug store chains offering vaccinations, is available on the City of West Hollywood’s website at www.weho.org/coronavirusin the Vaccines and Testing Information section.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks or more after they have received the second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two weeks or more after they have received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

For up-to-date answers to frequently asked questions about vaccines from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, please visit: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/about/FAQ-Vaccine.pdf.

The City of West Hollywood has declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. When in public, all community members should maintain your space with social (physical) distancing of at least six feet. Public Health officials recommend that everyone, even those who are vaccinated, continue to follow health recommendations. All people, regardless of vaccination status, should cover your face when in crowded outdoor areas and must use face coverings in indoor public settings.

West Hollywood City Hall is currently closed to the public and has suspended all in-person transactions. Most public City buildings and facilities remain closed. City Hall remains accessible for business and essential services with transactions to be conducted by phone (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org.

City of West Hollywood coronavirus updates are available at www.weho.org/coronavirusand the City encourages community members to follow @wehocity on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and turn on notifications for up-to-date information.

To view essential-business City meetings, tune in to WeHoTV at:

• www.weho.org/wehotv

Meetings can also be accessed via:

• www.youtube.com/wehotv
• Spectrum Channel 10 (in West Hollywood)
• SmartTV Apps: AndroidTV; AppleTV; FireTV; and Roku

For notifications by email, subscribe to the City’s E-Notifications at www.weho.org/email. Visit the City’s event and meetings calendar at www.weho.org/calendar and news archive at www.weho.org/news.

To receive urgent updates to your phone by text and to your email, text your ZIP code to 888-777.

For updates and information about the current numbers of COVID-19 cases in the United States, in the State of California, and in Los Angeles County, visit:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

• California Department of Public Health (CDPH) www.cdph.ca.gov and covid19.ca.gov

• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please contact the LA County Department of Public Health Chief Communications Officer, Carl A. Kemp, at (213) 240-8144 or media@ph.lacounty.gov. LA County Reopening Protocols, a COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, the Roadmap to Recovery, and additional details are available on its website at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or slunn@weho.org.

This press release was produced by the City of West Hollywood. The views expressed here are the author’s own.