Residents mandated to wear face coverings outdoors as Los Angeles moves forward with reopening plans

LOS ANGELES - Residents will be mandated to wear face coverings outdoors to slow the spread of COVID-19 as Los Angeles County is moving forward with its reopening plans, local authorities said Thursday.

"Masks are in fact mandatory across the entire county when you are outside of your home, not with members of your household, and in any kind of contact with other people," said Barbara Ferrer, director of the county's Department of Public Health at a news briefing.

"Any time you're out and there are people around, whether it be at a trailhead, or a parking lot, or on a sidewalk, you will need to wear your cloth face covering," she added.

She urged 10 million Los Angeles County residents to wear face coverings because it is a very important step to protect other people as not everyone who is infected with COVID-19 has symptoms.

County health officials said that they are working hard to put protocols into place to ensure more public spaces can reopen safely.

"We will all need to closely follow the rules, including practicing physical distancing and wearing cloth face coverings at all times, so that we don't end up with significant increases in hospitalizations and deaths," Ferrer noted.

Children under age 2 are not required to wear cloth face coverings and people who are unable to put on or take off a face covering are not required to wear one, according to the county's Department of Public Health.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that all Angelenos are required to wear protective face coverings when they leave the house.

Under California Governor Gavin Newsom's four-phase guidelines, Los Angeles County, now in Stage 2, is moving to reopen sectors of its economy, rolling back restrictions on certain types of businesses and public sites.

A new health officer order was issued Wednesday by the county's Department of Public Health that replaces the previous order and allows for lower-risk businesses and select recreational facilities and beaches to reopen with modifications.

Select recreational facilities including golf courses, tennis courts, shooting and archery ranges, equestrian centers, bike parks, and community gardens can also reopen, according to the new order.

Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the department will begin reopening on Friday tennis and pickleball courts, equestrian centers, BMX bike areas, trap, and skeet/archery ranges, model airplanes and community gardens, based on the reopening plan.

But as the virus continued to spread across the country, Los Angeles County health officials warned of the danger of rapidly reopening all businesses. Earlier this week, Ferrer said that the county's stay-at-home orders in response to the pandemic will likely be extended for another three months.

Los Angeles County reported 925 new COVID-19 cases and 51 more virus-related deaths on Thursday, raising the countywide total number to 35,329 cases with 1,709 deaths.