Are COVID Mask Mandates Working In Los Angeles Vs. Unmasked Orange County?

Tired of COVID mask data? Too bad. Let's dive into more data and important dates on the Long Angeles mask mandate timeline that, if masks are so incredibly useful, should show a huge decline in COVID cases when compared to unmasked neighboring Orange County, right?

Los Angeles County announced in November that mask mandates would be lifted if the county reached three benchmarks, including "no emerging reports of widely circulating COVID-19 "variants of concern'' that could lead to new surges of infections." With the omicron variant now dominating the news cycle, it appears residents can buckle up for mask mandates far into the future.

But are these mask mandates doing anything to stop new cases?

According to Twitter COVID data tracker @ianmSC, if you line up L.A. County against Orange County, you'll see that the mask mandate policy has had a brutal 2021 vs. the unmasked policy.

Data nerds will soon have more data to compare as a state-wide mask policy will go into effect Wednesday, December 15 and will include Orange County. The new mandate will require masks "to be worn in all indoor public settings, irrespective of vaccine status, for the next four weeks (December 15, 2021 through January 15, 2022).

And with the mask mandate comes bold claims like the one thrown out by UC Irvine epidemiologist Andrew Noymer, who told the Voice of OC, that Omicron is going to be a big COVID surge. Here it comes!

“Omicron is going to guarantee the winter wave whereas before it was only 90% sure,” Noymer told the news outlet. “There’s going to be a big winter wave. How big, how deadly, is anybody’s guess.”

As for this masking thing that now includes Orange County, Noymer isn't big on this get busy living thing like the New York Times suggested in a weekend editorial.

“If you’re just wandering around the sweater section around Macy’s, it’s just not clear there’s a huge bonus to being unmasked. Therefore, I would recommend masking,” he said.

So here we go with at least four weeks of masking in California.

Meanwhile, in South Korea where the vaccination rate hovers around 83% and mask compliance is high, COVID cases and death numbers soared to record highs last week. Masks are so prevalent in South Korea that a recent poll found that 27% of citizens expect masks to be worn indefinitely.

Even with a high vaccination rate and universal masking from an obedient society, South Korea has banned gatherings of seven or more people in Seoul and surrounding communities starting this week.