by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:49 AM ET, Tue July 26, 2022
As coronavirus cases continue to rise again, cities and counties around the United States are considering a return to mask mandates.
According to ABCNews.com, coronavirus BA.5 is a highly contagious offshoot of the omicron variant and is currently the dominant strain in the U.S., making up 77.9 percent of all cases.
In Los Angeles County, local health officials reported 8,091 new infections last week, an increase of 50 percent from the 5,391 cases recorded at the beginning of the month. If the county doesn't return to medium risk, and indoor mask mandate will go into effect on July 29.
"We are not closing anything down. We are not asking people not to gather with the people they love," LA County Department of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer told ABC News. "We're asking you to take a sensible step, when there's this much transmission with a highly transmissible variant, to go ahead and put back on a well-fitting high-filtration mask when you're indoors around others."
In Seattle and the surrounding county, officials said they are considering reinstating mask mandates, as CDC now categorizes the area in the "high" transmission category.
"We are actively considering if, and when, additional mandates may be needed," Seattle area health official Dr. Jeff Duchin said. "And I'm really encouraging everyone now to please, let's make sure we've done all we can on a voluntary basis before we have to go there."
In Cincinnati, Mayor Aftab Pureval said the city is making a formal recommendation for employees to start wearing masks indoors due to rising COVID-19 rates, according to WLWT.com.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said that while confirmed coronavirus cases are on the rise, the city isn't considering a new mask mandate "at this time," according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In a follow-up, Dickens said the city would follow "science and CDC guidelines, and will act accordingly for the best interests of the people of Atlanta."
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