Bay Area counties issue strong recommendation for indoor masking as COVID cases rise, even for those vaccinated

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – The counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma and the city of Berkeley recommend indoor masking for everyone as a precaution against the increased circulation of COVID-19.

Officials say that out of caution, people are recommended to wear masks indoors in environments such as grocery or retail stores, theaters and family entertainment centers, even if they are fully vaccinated. Businesses are urged to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering interior areas of their businesses. Health officials say workplaces must comply with Cal / OSHA requirements and fully immunized employees are encouraged to wear masks indoors if their employer has not confirmed the immunization status of those around them.

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Bay Area health workers said they will revisit this recommendation in the coming weeks as they continue to monitor transmission rates, hospitalizations, deaths and increasing immunization rates throughout. the region.

The group that prepared this announcement is called the Bay Area Coalition. What you may remember was a term used at the start of the pandemic where Bay Area health departments came together to coordinate their regulations on things like masking, trade restrictions, etc. we got the system on several levels.

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While these guidelines don’t mandate masking like Los Angeles County health officials – we are hearing reports from several counties like Marin already reporting an increase in the number of cases. Not to mention vaccination rates as a state have slowed dramatically over the past month. Still sitting, about 60% of Californians have been vaccinated with at least one dose.

In June, Delta variants accounted for 43% of all cases in California. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that Delta variants are now responsible for 58% of new infections across the country.

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