OC Residents Demand Board Of Supervisors Drop Face Mask Requirement

SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — Nearly 100 Orange County residents who don't want to wear face masks called on officials Tuesday to get rid of the order immediately.

While the majority lined up to speak out against the mask and stay- at-home orders at Tuesday morning's Board of Supervisors meeting, only one person came to speak in favor of masks.

The meeting came hours after the abrupt resignation of the county's chief health officer, Dr. Nichole Quick, who stepped down over backlash for her order last month to require face coverings as the county allowed some businesses to reopen.

Although she did not provide a reason for her resignation, Quick was receiving heightened security due to threats stemming from her mask order.

Protesters brought a poster with Quick's photo embellished with a Hitler mustache and swastikas to a previous Board of Supervisors meeting.

The board named Dr. Clayton Chau, director of the county's Health Care Agency, as the new chief health officer.

Chau has previously defended Quick's mask order, saying it is required when residents cannot maintain six feet of social distancing.

Several of those who spoke at Tuesday's meeting denounced Chau's appointment, with one resident calling him a "charlatan".

Quick's resignation was the second major and abrupt departure in Orange County since the pandemic began, after David Souleles retired in April as deputy director of public health services.

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• Orange County