Will an indoor masking mandate come back? And if it does, will Manhattan Beach enforce it? Those are the questions on the minds of community members and businesses as the Los Angeles County Department of Health prepares to possibly reinstate an indoor mask mandate as early as today. 

If the indoor mask mandate returns, the Manhattan Beach City Council is set to take up the issue at its Tuesday meeting. 

(The city of Manhattan Beach has not yet taken a position on the potential new indoor mask mandate, contrary to stories that have run in at least one local news outlet.)

"No official statement has been made and the city has yet to take an official position on a potential mask mandate at this time," Manhattan Beach Mayor Steve Napolitano told MB News. "While I personally don't see the city enforcing masks at this point, any other statement made on what the council will do is premature as we need to discuss it at a public meeting and let the public weigh in as well."

Furthermore, the city has no say in masking in schools, added Napolitano, who said that he has received multiple emails on the matter.

"While I've been getting a number of emails specifically asking that we oppose a mask mandate for school children, it should be made clear that the council has no authority over whether students wear masks or not--that decision is up to our separately elected school board," he said.

If the LACDPH establishes a new indoor mask mandate, it faces potential opposition from around L.A. County.

L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has said she is opposed to a mask mandate, calling them "polarizing" and "unenforceable."

Additionally, Supervisor Janice Hahn has said she sides with the California Department of Health in recommending but not mandating indoor masking.

The cities of Long Beach and Pasadena (both of which have their own health departments) have said that they would not institute mask mandates; and the cities of Beverly Hills and El Segundo have announced that they would not enforce such a mandate, if one is instituted.

And on the agenda for the Manhattan Beach City Council, if the issue moves forward, is a proposed letter from the South Bay Council of Governments to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The letter asks the Supervisors to decline to institute a universal indoor mask mandate and instead consider a “Mask Advisory” order entailing stepped-up public education and signage in public spaces that encourage voluntary masking. 

According to LACDPH, Los Angeles County entered the High Covid Community Level on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Community Levels framework in mid-July after hospital admissions exceeded 10 new hospital admissions per 100,000 people. The county’s admission rate, at 10.5 hospital admissions per 100,000 people, reflected an 88% increase when compared to one month earlier.

According to LACDPH standards, if L.A. County remains in the High COVID-19 Community Level for two consecutive weeks, universal indoor masking would be implemented beginning on July 29 to help slow the rate of transmission and protect those most vulnerable.

Indoor masking is already required in many places, including at all healthcare settings, public transit and transit hubs, long-term care settings, shelters and cooling centers, and correctional facilities. Indoor masking also continues to be required at worksites with outbreaks, and is required for all individuals during the 10 days after a COVID diagnosis or exposure when they are around others.

Businesses and employers are allowed to require masks at work, and many have done that, either by maintaining an indoor masking requirement throughout the pandemic or reinstating one as cases began increasing.

If the county implements universal indoor masking, residents and workers would need to wear masks in all indoor public spaces, including shared office spaces, manufacturing facilities, retail stores, and at indoor events. Indoor areas of restaurants and bars, children’s programs, and educational settings, would need to institute universal masking as well.

According to LACDPH, when people who are infected wear a mask, they exhale far less virus into the air than infected people who do not mask. Masks also provide protection to the individual wearing a mask, by filtering virus from the air they are breathing. When everyone in a room is masked, there is less virus circulating, and less likelihood that any virus circulating will penetrate the physical barrier of a well-fitting, high filtration mask.