LA County COVID-19 Updates: Updated Health Officer Order and Public Health Emergency Isolation and Quarantine Requirements

Press release from the Venice Chamber of Commerce:

January 2, 2022

The updated Health Officer Order ENCOURAGING COVID-19 VACCINATION AND BOOSTER DOSE COVERAGE WITH SIGNIFICANT RISK REDUCTION MEASURES was issued on Friday, December 31, 2021. Changes are highlighted in yellow: In light of the drastic increases in cases and resultant
hospitalizations, and to lessen the severity of the Omicron and Delta variant surge in Los Angeles County and protect against overwhelming the health care delivery system, the following changes are being made to this Order:

• Isolation and Quarantine Requirements are revised to mainly align with the State Public Health Officer's revised Guidance for Local Health Jurisdictions on Isolation and Quarantine of the General Public, released on December 30, 2021. This guidance does NOT apply to healthcare personnel in any setting. See AFL-21-08.6. In the workplace, employers are subject to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) or in some workplaces the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) Standard, and should consult those regulations for additional applicable requirements.
• As soon as practicable, employers should provide and require employees to wear a well-fitting medical grade mask, surgical mask or higher-level respirator approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), such as an N95 filtering facepiece respirator, at all times while indoors at the worksite or facility.

The Isolation Order has been revised as of December 31, 2021 and supersedes the December 17, 2021 Public Health Emergency Isolation Order COVID-19: Isolation Instructions for People with COVID-19 webpage.

The Quarantine Order has been revised as of December 31, 2021 and supersedes the November 8,
2021 Public Health Emergency Quarantine Order. Other pertinent information on quarantine can be found on the COVID-19: Quarantine and Other Instructions for Close Contacts webpage.

Other pertinent information and resources can be found on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/.

Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, the State of California is mandating that everyone masks in indoor public spaces and workplaces. The order is in effect December 15, 2021 to January 15, 2022.

For more information about the mandate, visit: covid19.ca.gov

This press release was produced by the Venice Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.