Beverly Hills votes unanimously not to enforce potential LA County COVID mask mandate

The Beverly Hills City Council has voted unanimously to not enforce a COVID-19 mask requirement, as Los Angeles County considers whether to reinstate the policy.

"I feel it is our job to lead, and I support the power of choice," Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse said Monday evening after the vote, Fox News reported. "We are not where we were in 2020, and now we need to move forward as a community and be part of the solution."

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reportedly planned to reinstitute an indoor mask requirement on Friday but decided against it as cases appear to be leveling off.

"We are likely to want to take a pause on moving too quickly," county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger also opposes universal mask mandates.

"The current COVID-19 wave is different from other ones: many people are getting infected, but the majority are not becoming seriously ill," she said in an open letter Monday.

She also said mask mandates are "polarizing and unenforceable," and are not supported by the data.