Long Beach officials issued a new order to require masks on all public transit in the city.
The updated health order went into effect Friday, aligning the city with Los Angeles County’s mask mandate on all public transit and indoor public transportation hubs.
The local orders come after a federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate covering airlines and other public transportation.
So now, despite the judge voiding the national mandate, everyone aged 2 and older has to mask up while on trains, buses, taxis and ride-shares in Long Beach — regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status
Masking is also still required indoors at airport and bus terminals, train stations and seaports.
In Long Beach, the seven-day coronavirus case rate stood at 72.8 per 100,000 people last week.
Officials said that while this indicates low levels of transmission, the case and positivity rates in Long Beach have been increasing as the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant spreads.
“At this time, we must continue to require community-level prevention strategies, including masking on public transit and in transportation hubs, to protect the most vulnerable in high-risk settings and safeguard the health care system,” Long Beach officials said in a news release.