Long Beach, Pasadena to relax indoor masking policy for fully vaccinated, proof not required

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The cities of Long Beach and Pasadena announced Thursday that it will deviate slightly from Los Angeles County's latest health order, easing indoor masking requirements for fully vaccinated people. 

The orders will go into effect Saturday, Feb. 26, and will allow those vaccinated against COVID-19 to be able to remove their masks indoors. 

While the county's order, which goes into effect Friday, also allows vaccinated customers and workers to remove their masks, they must show proof of vaccination. The new directives from Long Beach and Pasadena directive, which align with guidance from the state health department, won't require proof. 

RELATED: LA County to allow businesses to make indoor masking optional for vaccinated customers

According to the cities, the order provides three options:

• Letting customers attest to their vaccination status before entry, allowing them to go maskless,
• Implementing vaccine verification to determine who needs a mask,
• Or simply requiring everyone to wear masks.

While the order applies to most businesses, everyone regardless of vaccination status will still need to wear masks on public transit, in schools, emergency and homeless shelters, healthcare facilities, and correctional facilities. 

In Long Beach, COVID cases have dropped steadily. As of Feb. 22, the city's positivity rate was 4%, while hospitalizations have dropped by more than half - from 367 to 131- and continue to decline. While the new policy will allow vaccinated people to go maskless in most places within the city, Long Beach health officials still recommend masks, "when the risk may be high."

Health officials in Pasadena say they expect COVID cases to reach "moderate transmission" levels as defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the end of March. Until then, the city recommends businesses take steps to verify employees and customers are vaccinated and require those who aren't, require proof of negative COVID tests regularly.

Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.

Tune in to FOX 11 Los Angeles for the latest Southern California news.