Vaccinated travelers can now enter restaurants, bars, museums, and other indoor establishments without face coverings.
Health authorities of Los Angeles County recently announced that customers are now allowed to remove masks indoors. The measure took effect on Friday 25, and henceforth people who can demonstrate proof of vaccination will not be required to wear face coverings.
After almost two years of the mandatory restriction in this county, vaccinated travelers visiting Los Angeles can now enter restaurants, bars, museums, stores, and other indoor establishments without masks. However, unvaccinated customers are still required to wear face coverings even if they can show negative COVID test results.
The county’s Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer declared for reporters on Thursday, the day the measure was announced: “This allows, in places where you’re verifying that people are either fully vaccinated or they have that negative test result, that then it’s a safer environment where those who are fully vaccinated can go ahead and (remove) their masks”.
Ferrer insisted that the removal of the mask mandate only applies to those vaccinated: “While those who are not, even if they’ve had a negative test result, (must) keep their masks on. That’s to stay aligned with the state order.”
Business owners can keep requiring masks indoors, but it is no longer mandatory for employees either. Los Angeles’ city Mayor, Eric Garcetti, said they will follow the lead of the county and also shared his positive expectations: “This moment gives us a renewed sense of optimism about the direction of this pandemic.”
Authorities in Los Angeles County are working on the transition to easy COVID restrictions to return to a lifestyle more similar to the one citizens had before the pandemic, including the tourism industry.
LA County’s Travel Recommendation
The ease of the restrictions comes hand in hand with the risk reduction and control of the pandemic. At the moment, around 70% of La County’s population, 10.3 million people have been vaccinated.
Ferrer explained that mask protection is still recommended for vulnerable people and for those who live with them. Travelers can wear masks as a precaution or when they consider necessary.
Los Angeles County’s Travel Advisory and Guidance website, suggests travelers “to make sure that they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, meaning fully vaccinated and received their booster dose, if eligible, prior to travel”.
International travelers must show proof of vaccination and get a COVID-19 test no more than 1 day before flight departure into the USA, except for toddlers and people who recently recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 and can provide the proper documentation.
The County also requests not to travel with any symptoms and suggests all travelers stay up to date with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s travel requirements and considerations.
Tourism in LA
Los Angeles remains a top destination in the United States. Travelers can explore the city through the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame, visit the Hollywood sign, the Griffith Observatory, and experience Beverly Hills, especially if it is their first trip to LA.
Los Angeles County has many attractions and stunning places to visit. From emblematic coastal landscapes like Malibu, Santa Monica, and the beautiful Venice Beach, to famous amusement parks —Universal, Disney, Six Flags, Legoland, Knott’s Berry Farm— and museums like The Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and now LA’s first Mexican food museum.
Adam Burke, CEO of Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, recently shared for Skiff their optimism towards tourism: “Demand for travel to Los Angeles is coming back strong, with 2022 projected to hit 91% of 2019 visitation levels and a return to pre-pandemic total visitation by 2023; though international doesn’t fully recover until 2025.”
Now that customers are no longer required to wear masks, vaccinated travelers can enjoy indoor and outdoor experiences to build unique memories under more “normal” conditions.
