In reinstituting an indoor mask mandate, Los Angeles County has once again positioned itself at the forefront of the battle against coronavirus, particularly the hyper-virulent Delta variant.
But whether the region becomes a national lodestar or remains on its lonesome remains an open question.
L.A. County is far from the only corner of the country to experience a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. But it’s by far the largest area to turn to mandatory masking, even for those who are vaccinated, in hopes of turning the tide.
The effects of the new health order, which goes into effect Saturday night, won’t become clear for a few weeks — an eternity in a pandemic that’s already demonstrated it can change trajectory on a dime.
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