Chair Mitchell’s Statement on Supporting LA County’s Mask Mandate to Protect Game Goers at Super Bowl LVI and Vulnerable Communities

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Holly J. Mitchell provided the following statement on the importance of following Los Angeles County’s mask mandate to keep game goers at Super Bowl LVI and the surrounding Inglewood communities safe:

Two years of fighting this pandemic has taught us many lessons, including the fact that wearing masks helps stop the spread of Covid-19. We cannot in good conscience ignore this or the diligent work of our Department of Public Health in providing health orders informed by the realities of how this pandemic shows up in LA County every day.

LA County will soon take center stage as the world watches Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. We are entrusted to protect the public’s health not just at this event but every single day. Our actions should always be driven by science and common sense.

Covid-19 continues to disproportionately impact the everyday workers that make up the backbone of our local economy. A majority of these workers are Black and Latinx and from communities in my district that continue to be hit the hardest by this pandemic. They do not have the option to make a living working from home. Many of these workers will be at SoFi Stadium providing security, handling tickets, and cleaning up after fans.

LA County will continue to stand up for our vulnerable residents who face higher rates of exposure while helping to keep our County running. This is necessary for ensuring an equitable recovery from the pandemic. We will also continue to follow the State of California’s Covid-19 masking requirements which allows California’s 58 counties to establish additional requirements due to their unique circumstances, such as population density, vulnerable populations at higher risk, and transmission rates.

When transmission in Los Angeles County returned to high levels, the County required masking at all portions of outdoor mega events, such as the Super Bowl. Also, the County requires masking outdoors at schools if students and staff are in crowded spaces where distancing is not possible. Given the continued high rates of Covid-19 transmission in the County and low vaccination rates, masking in these settings provides an essential, additional layer of protection and helps lower transmission.

Our County is looking to sunset these stricter masking requirements when we are post-surge. Los Angeles County is not post-surge yet.

Masking is a modest requirement that works and is the very least we can to do keep our communities and workers safe. I am asking all game goers and residents to uphold their personal responsibility to keep themselves and loved ones safe by wearing a mask when appropriate to do so and getting vaccinated.

Los Angeles County needs to stay the course and will continue to respond based on facts and not convenience so that we can implement a thoughtful and scientifically informed plan to relax masking and other Covid-19 requirements when the surge is done. Now is not the time to let down our guard.

Go Rams!

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