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Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma, and the City of Berkeley counties will waive the interior masking requirement in public spaces not subject to state and federal masking rules when any the following occurs:
- Jurisdiction reaches moderate COVID-19 transmission level (yellow), as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and remains there for at least three weeks
- COVID-19 hospitalizations in jurisdiction low and stable, health worker says
- 80% of the total population in the jurisdiction is fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson (booster doses not taken into account) OR Eight weeks have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine was been cleared for emergency use by federal and state authorities for 5 to 11 years
Separate from other Bay Area jurisdictions, San Francisco today announced a more immediate easing of masking requirements starting October 15 in select selected indoor environments where stable groups of fully vaccinated people congregate.
Most Bay Area health departments issued masking requirements for their respective jurisdictions on August 3, following a summer increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. But with regional data showing the tide is receding and the Bay Area is one of the most vaccinated regions in the country, Bay Area health officials agree it’s time to plan for a transition. .
Lifting a local indoor mask mandate would not prevent businesses, nonprofits, churches or others with public indoor spaces from imposing their own demands. As COVID-19 easily spreads through airborne droplets, face coverings remain very strong to prevent its spread.
THIS IS AN UPDATE FROM BREAKING NEWS, THE PREVIOUS STORY BELOW:
With COVID case rates dropping, many are wondering how long we will need to keep our face masks on. Today, Bay Area health workers are expected to announce plans for a possible end of the masking mandate inside the region, but the order may not end overnight.
“It’s time, it’s been 18 months,” said Adam Kovacks.
Kovacks says you work out in his Novato Sonoma Fit gym, you always have to wear a mask, it’s not always easy, he hopes the term ends soon.
RELATED: UCSF Doctors Eye Santa Cruz After County Drops Indoor Mask Mandate
“If you’re still worried wear your mask but it’s about time we put the blame on people, not small businesses,” Kovacks said.
Bay Area health officials could announce new criteria today, to ease COVID restrictions like indoor masking. These criteria may include vaccination rates, case rates and hospitalizations. Santa Clara County health official Dr Sara Cody told supervisors the numbers were improving.
“The plan is to develop a set of measures that we can share across the region in order to lift the inner masking, we are getting very close to that,” Cody said.
Many in the Bay Area are hoping for a target date, when a mask is not required.
RELATED: Los Angeles Passes One of the Toughest COVID Vaccine Mandates in the United States
It’s hard to breathe with the masks on, ”said Jesse Tassey of Novato.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told ABC7 News on Midday Live that she trusts health workers but will continue to wear her mask.
“Rule or not, I will continue to wear my mask inside restaurants, better safe than sorry,” Schaaf said.
San Mateo County officials say although vaccination rates are high, it is too early to lift masking rules.
“We know one thing is certain, COVID-19 is uncertain. I wouldn’t be surprised if in two months, if the mask orders are lifted, we could go back to another term,” the county supervisor said. San Mateo, David Canepa.
VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get the coronavirus vaccine
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