Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) announced Wednesday evening that residents must wear masks when leaving their homes as part of the city’s ongoing effort to combat the deadly Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
“And as long as you’re not doing a solitary activity or with your own household, put that mask on,” Garcetti said. “Always now.”
The new requirement “will help us get more freedoms, open up more parts of our city,” added the mayor.
Small children and some disabled individuals are exempt from the order.
People inside businesses and on public transportation are already required to wear masks.
Garcetti’s announcement comes as Los Angeles County’s stay-home order is likely to be extended by three months, Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said Tuesday. Speaking to ABC Good Morning America, Garcetti said Los Angeles won’t fully reopen until there is a “cure” for the coronavirus, which has infected 33,180 people in the city and killed 1,613, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.
“We’ve never been fully closed, we’ll never be completely open until we have a cure. But I do believe that we can take steps, but monitor those numbers, listen to the scientists and the medical professionals, and make the tough calls even when there’s criticism,” he told host George Stephanopoulos.
Earlier Wednesday, several Los Angeles area beaches reopened with restrictions such as social distancing of six feet and masks. Beachgoers are prohibited from social gatherings and suntanning.