Haunted by Past Virus Surges, California Leans on Masks and Vaccines

A new indoor mask requirement in Los Angeles County comes as new virus cases have nearly tripled statewide. Immunization rates, however, should keep any spike below past peaks.

SACRAMENTO — Exactly one month after Gov. Gavin Newsom triumphantly announced California’s “grand reopening” from more than a year of health restrictions, Los Angeles County said on Thursday that face masks would again be required indoors starting this weekend. The proclamation — along with a warning from the University of California that most unvaccinated faculty, staff and students would be barred from its campuses this fall — underscored the gathering concern that the coronavirus may be poised for a resurgence, although not one nearly as bad as past spikes. Every state has reported an increase in the number of new virus cases in recent days. California’s figures have nearly tripled over the past month, largely because of San Bernardino and Los Angeles, but the current rate of 3,000 new cases a day is a blip compared to the winter peak, when there were more than 44,000.