Some experts see less value in a new LA mask mandate at this stage of the pandemic
LOS ANGELES — As successive waves of COVID-19 have swept across the Southland, Michael Matteo Rossi, a 35 year-old filmmaker who lives in Los Feliz, has gamely masked up whenever he shopped, ate out or visited with his parents, who are in their 70s.
"I've never been like someone who walks into a Walmart without a mask, looking to make a big stink," said Rossi, who is vaccinated. "I'm all about respect."
But now, with Los Angeles County potentially on the verge of a renewed indoor masking mandate, his feelings have changed. With hospitalizations and deaths far below the peaks of the winter omicron surge, Rossi said he feels safe mingling, maskless, in indoor spaces with his parents and friends.
His surgical mask, once an ever-present accessory, is abandoned somewhere in his car.
