Even as blue areas of the country begin to roll back COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates, the Los Angeles Unified School District indicated in a Friday Twitter statement that the mask mandate would stay in place until further notice.

''The science that informed the on-ramp to the protective protocols currently in place, which have ensured the well-being of our students and workforce, must, too, inform the off-ramp as health conditions improve,'' the district wrote.

''Los Angeles Unified continues to take a science-based approach to COVID-19 policy and is currently working with labor partners and other stakeholders to transition from required indoor masking to a strong recommendation for indoor masking,'' the statement continued.

The district did not indicate in the statement when its mask mandate might be lifted.

The move comes despite the expiration of California's school mask mandate over the weekend, leading several districts in the state to drop their face covering requirements on Monday, ABC News reported.

After Los Angeles County public health officials announced an end to countywide mask mandates earlier this month, United Teachers Los Angeles decried the decision in a statement as premature.

''The district has requested to bargain with UTLA over health and safety protocols currently in place at LAUSD schools,'' a spokesperson for the teachers union told ABC News. ''We met with the district on Friday for an initial discussion over their proposed changes, and a follow-up session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16.''

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day rolling average for confirmed COVID-19 infections in California was 4,625 as of Friday, the lowest number recorded since the beginning of December. In terms of hospitalizations, the seven-day average sits at 319, the lowest since last summer.

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