It’s that time of year, when rising Covid cases collide with holiday plans. Hospitalizations in Los Angeles County have nearly tripled in the past month, and the county is talking about a possible mask mandate.

It’s the same line of thinking that Los Angeles County leaders had when Covid cases rose this summer. And there was a time when masks were required at the county’s airports and on public transit even though state and federal requirements had been relaxed.

But a mask decree now would land in a region where social habits and emotions about Covid have greatly shifted since the previous two winters of rising cases.