Los Angeles County Health Director Barbara Ferrer is admitting to the mistakes she and other officials made in response to the coronavirus that has now run rampant across the state and the nation.
“I’m the first one to admit, you know, how wrong we were when we thought there wasn’t a lot of asymptomatic spread, and how wrong we were when we didn’t think that masking up, wearing cloth face coverings, was going to afford a lot of protection,” Ferrer said Monday. “As we move through, I keep top of mind as we continue to learn more about this virus we have to make other adjustments in the future, and that’s just the path that we’re on.”
According to Deadline, Ferrer said she understands how frustrating it can be for locals who are dealing with changing restrictions involving social distancing and mask-wearing.
Just earlier this month, California Governor Gavin Newsom closed indoor dining and bars for a second time after a spike in cases.
Many were left wondering if facilities were reopened too soon due to political pressure that ignored science.
But Ferrer said the adjustments had to be made as more was learned about the novel coronavirus.
“I’ve said before that additional rollbacks or closures must remain on the table,” she said. “But at this stage in the pandemic, we believe we have a lot of tools available that, if fully utilized, should allow us to slow the spread without going back to the more stringent Safer-At-Home orders that were in place earlier in the pandemic.”
Ferrer also reiterated the importance of wearing a mask, which has become a strong political topic debated by republicans and democrats.
“Right now, we’re laser-focused on making sure that people understand that we have some tools at hand that allow us to slow the spread,” Ferrer said. “We also know now without a doubt that wearing face coverings really helps protect other people and may, in fact, protect the wearer.”
“We’ve learned. The science is catching up to being able to help us as we produce directives and guidance, and as we move forward, we have to take every opportunity to take whatever tools we have right now, use them to our full capacity to slow the spread,” she added.
“There will be more tools in the future, and that will change what we’re able to do or not able to do. I am hopeful around changes that will happen around testing…and I’m very hopeful about there being therapeutics and a vaccine.”
