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On Wednesday, California State Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced the one-month extension for mask mandate. The State has extended its indoor mask mandate through February 15 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and the omicron variant. The extended mandate announcement comes just days after a report that suggested cloth masks are ineffective against the omicron variant of COVID-19. During a press briefing, Ghaly said at that time, we will again re-evaluate the condition across California, our communities, and our healthcare delivery settings to make sure that we are taking the latest information into account to determine if there would be another extension, or if we’re prepared to lift that requirement across the state. Omicron is here and it’s here now.

However, the original mask mandate went into effect on Dec. 15, 2021, and was slated to expire on Jan. 15. The new mandate requires the wearing of masks in all indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County reported more than 21,000 new COVID-19 cases. The county reported 45,000 new cases after the holiday weekend. Those figures prompted the county court system to pause criminal jury trials for at least two weeks beginning Wednesday. The US District Court for the Central District of California also announced the immediate suspension of federal trials for at least three weeks because of the coronavirus. The Department of Public Health and Human Services said there were just over 8,000 hospitalizations for COVID-19 statewide.

Ghaly also urged people to get vaccinated, obtain their booster shots, and wear better-fitting masks to combat omicron. He also said the mandate would not impact Super Bowl LVI, which is scheduled to be held in SoFi Stadium, in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood on Feb. 13. The venue is home to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers and has had a mask policy since October. He said the Super Bowl is coming to L.A. The NFL informed a news outlet that it still plans to hold its annual championship game in Los Angeles. As part of our standard contingency planning process that we conduct for all regular and postseason games, we have contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event.