CC SR 20210803 K - Joint Peninsula Masking Letter
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 08/03/2021
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to authorize the Mayor to sign a joint Peninsula letter
regarding the indoor masking mandate.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Authorize the Mayor to sign a joint Peninsula letter to the L.A. County Board of
Supervisors and the Department of Public Health calling for the indoor masking
mandate to be rescinded.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Megan Barnes, Senior Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Draft letter to L.A. County Board of Supervisors and Department of Public
Health (page A-1)
B. July 22, 2021 L.A. County Department of Public Health slide on
breakthrough cases (page B-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
On July 15, 2021, one month after the statewide reopening and lifting of almost all COVID-
19 restrictions, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced that due
to rising transmission, all individuals would be required to wear masks in indoor public
settings, regardless of vaccination status. A modified Health Officer Order implementing
the masking mandate took effect on July 17 at 11:59 p.m. On July 27, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended indoor masking regardless of
vaccination status in areas of the country experiencing significant transmission increases.
As of the writing of this report, the California Department of Public Health has not changed
its guidance on masking following the CDC’s announcement.
1
Although L.A. County has seen an uptick in new cases with the spread of the more
contagious Delta variant, hospitalizations and deaths remain far below levels seen during
the winter surge.
Like past restrictions, the masking requirement takes a one-size-fits-all approach and
does not take into account the higher vaccination rates and lower transmission rates
found in communities such as the Palos Verdes Peninsula. According to data from the
L.A. County Department of Public Health COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Dashboard, our
cities have an overall vaccination rate of 75%, and our most vulnerable population, which
is historically those residents aged 65 and older, has a vaccination rate of 90%. On July
26, the L.A. County Department of Public Health reported that almost everyone
hospitalized with COVID-19 in L.A. County is unvaccinated, and that in the month of June,
92% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated. According to data from
January 19-July 20, 2021, 0.13% of fully vaccinated L.A. County residents tested positive
for COVID-19, 0.0059% were hospitalized, and 0.0006% passed away (Attachment B).
For the City Council’s consideration, Staff has prepared a draft letter from the mayors of
the Peninsula cities calling for the masking mandate to be rescinded (Attachment A). The
Rolling Hills City Council authorized Mayor Bea Dieringer to sign the letter on July 26.
The letter notes that although mandatory indoor masking made sense when masks were
the best defense in our toolkit, we are in a much different place today, with vaccines
widely and easily available, and a high percentage of the public protected.
Staff recommends the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the letter as drafted, or
with revisions.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative action s are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Identify revised language to add to the letter.
2. Do not authorize the Mayor to sign the letter.
3. Take other action, as deemed appropriate.
2
August 3, 2021
L.A. County Board of Supervisors
Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director
L.A. County Department of Public Health
5050 Commerce Drive
Baldwin Park, CA 91706
SUBJECT: Rescinding the Countywide Indoor Masking Mandate
Dear Supervisors and Dr. Ferrer:
The cities of Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills
Estates call on you to rescind the countywide masking mandate in indoor public settings
for all individuals who are fully vaccinated, which was imposed without a full explanation
of the science and data modeling behind this decision.
This recent mandate is the latest example of back-and-forth, confusing restrictions that
have eroded public trust in government and caused Los Angeles County residents to
question our leadership during the pandemic.
Our cities understand and fully appreciate the difficult task of leading during these times
to ensure the safety of county residents. In this case, we need additional information
before we can support additional restrictions. As you are aware, this additional
requirement continues to place a burden on all cities and their elected and appointed
officials, who are obligated to explain the actions being taken by the county.
Given the current state of vaccinations in the county, what is the projected case reduction
by mandating an indoor masking requirement for everyone?
According to the Department of Public Health's press release on April 21:
"Looking at the data on breakthrough infections after vaccination that the CDC
released last week, the risk of infection in people who are fully vaccinated was 1
A-1
L.A. County Board of Supervisors and Dr. Ferrer
August 3, 2021
Page 2
in 13,275 – much less common than 1 in 10 infected with COVID-19 who were not
vaccinated. And the risk of death goes from 1 in 500 to 1 in a million."
Mandatory indoor masking made sense when masks were the best defense in our toolkit.
We are in a much different place today. According to the Vaccine Dashboard provided by
the Department of Public Health, our cities have an overall vaccination rate of 75%. Our
most vulnerable population, which is historically those residents aged 65 and older, has
a vaccination rate of 90%. Overall, the county is showing similar vaccination rates. The
revised Health Officer Order requiring masking for everyone indoors is inconsistent with
the county's own published vaccination statistics. This one-size-fits-all approach does not
take into account the higher vaccination rates and lower transmission rates found in
communities such as ours.
Currently, the trends in COVID-19 cases are heavily weighted toward younger,
unvaccinated individuals. According to a July 20 press release, the Department of Public
Health stated:
“Of the new cases reported by Public Health, 83% are among people under the
age of 50 years old with 65% of new cases among people between the ages of 18
and 49 years old.”
According to available information from the COVID -19 Data Dashboard provided by the
Department of Public Health, the current level of hospitalizations is around 825
individuals. In February of this year when a similar level of infection rates existed,
hospitalizations exceeded 2,000 individuals. We understand that hospitalizations trail
infection rate increases. However, as documented above, the current trend shows
younger, unvaccinated individuals being infected. Historically, these individuals have not
used as many medical resources and the death rates have been much lower than those
65 and over.
The Peninsula cities very much appreciate the extraordinary effort the county has
undertaken to provide our residents access to COVID-19 vaccines. Everyone who would
like to receive a vaccine is eligible to do so for free; individuals have myriad ways to
receive it. What we are talking about now is choice. Without a federal or state mandate
on COVID-19 vaccines, there is little that cities can do to assist more than they already
have and continue to do through advocacy and encouragement.
Sincerely,
Michael Kemps
Mayor
City of Palos Verdes Estates
Eric Alegria
Mayor
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
A-2
L.A. County Board of Supervisors and Dr. Ferrer
August 3, 2021
Page 3
Bea Dieringer
Mayor
City of Rolling Hills
Steve Zuckerman
Mayor
City of Rolling Hills Estates
cc: Ben Allen, Senator, 26th State Senate District
Al Muratsuchi, Assembly Member, 66th Assembly District
Palos Verdes Estates City Council
Rancho Palos Verdes City Council
Rolling Hills City Council
Rolling Hills Estates City Council
Jacki Bacharach, Executive Director, South Bay Cities Council of Governments
A-3
covid19.lacounty.gov 7/22/2021
Covid Among Fully Vaccinated People in LAC
From January 19 –July 20, 2021
4,855,839 fully vaccinated
6,520 tested positive
287 hospitalized
30 died
Of fully vaccinated people:
•0.13% tested positive
•0.0059% hospitalized for Covid
•0.0006% died
B-1