Los Angeles County is eagerly looking forward to a full reopening on June 15. Although exciting, this will not fully return to the normal state before the pandemic.
With Los Angeles County completely reopening, here are five things to look forward to.
People who have not been vaccinated may have a higher risk of outbreaks
California officials said they will end the requirement for fully vaccinated people to wear masks on June 15. But it is also expected that people who have not been vaccinated may violate the rules that normally instruct them to continue wearing masks.
If they start to take off their masks when they are in close contact with other unvaccinated people, and the vaccination rate is not enough to prevent an outbreak, more unvaccinated people may be at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
For people who have not been vaccinated, testing for coronavirus will become even more important
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said: “As we begin to deal more with people outside the home, testing is indeed one of the best ways to stop an outbreak before it breaks out.” "This will be an important part of our strategy, especially after June 15."
Ferrer recommends testing under the following conditions:
• When anyone shows signs or symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status. (It is extremely rare for a fully vaccinated person to show symptoms of COVID-19-as of May 7, only 0.03% of the 3.3 million vaccinated residents of Los Angeles County had tested positive for the coronavirus. Only 0.002% were hospitalized. )
• People who have not been vaccinated find themselves in close contact with someone who has been confirmed to have COVID-19.
• Unvaccinated people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Ferrer said: “So if you are not vaccinated and you stay indoors with many people who don’t wear masks, please get tested—whether you have symptoms or not.” “You don’t want to spread this infection to Other people."
People who test positive need to self-quarantine to avoid infecting others, and wear a mask after completing the quarantine period and leaving home. People can be tested by their healthcare provider; the coronavirus testing sites listed on the Los Angeles County website provide testing for free.
If everyone in the room is not vaccinated, officials will require workers to wear masks indoors
According to a proposal recommended by the State Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board on Thursday, California will remove the requirement for masks for workers who have vaccinated everyone in the room and have no symptoms of COVID-19 on June 15.
However, according to the proposal drafted by the California Department of Occupational Safety, even if an unvaccinated worker or a guest whose employer does not have a vaccination record enters, every employee in the room must still wear a mask. Health, called Cal/OSHA.
The plan also proposes that before July 31, all employees participating in indoor or outdoor activities with 10,000 or more people must continue to maintain physical distance from others, or they can choose to wear respirators (such as N95 respirators) for Voluntary use.
Officials still have special requirements for schools, day camps, daycares, hospitals, healthcare facilities, and high-risk gathering places. Ferrer said that shelter, alienation and infection control measures are still needed in these environments.
Some companies may decide to keep the blocking requirement
Even if states and counties no longer require customers to wear masks, some companies may require customers to wear masks.
Los Angeles County will release a list of best practices next week to help companies develop plans.