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Three other Bay Area counties issued recommendations this week that their residents should resume wearing masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status, as COVID-19 cases increase across the country. State.
Napa, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties jointly issued an advisory with San Benito County on Monday recommending that residents of the four counties wear face coverings when in public places such as grocery stores and stores. retail, theaters and family entertainment centers.
Health officials from all four counties argued that while they had no plans to reimplement a full mask mandate, the recent statewide increase in new cases – mostly among those unvaccinated. – and the rise of the more contagious delta variant group are both worrying trends.
“Fully vaccinated people are well protected against serious infections and illnesses from COVID-19, including the Delta variants,” the four counties said in a joint statement. “Vaccinating as many people as possible, as soon as possible, continues to be our best defense against a serious infection with COVID-19 and the damage it can do to our region. “
The notice came three days after health officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties and the city of Berkeley issued the same guidelines “by excess of caution”.
Local, state and federal public health officials have warned that the pandemic is now progressing on two tracks, with unvaccinated people increasingly at risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 than their counterparts entirely. vaccinated.
While unvaccinated residents were required by the state to wear face coverings in indoor spaces even after the state reopened on June 15, which also included the lifting of the mandate for fully vaccinated people, the mechanism application to ensure that unvaccinated people keep their masks on has been largely limited to self-attestation.
Health officials from all four counties have urged local businesses to go further by adopting universal mask requirements when their customers are indoors.
“It will also make it easier for businesses to make sure unvaccinated people are masked,” the four counties said.
About 56% of eligible Santa Cruz County residents are fully immunized, while 73% of eligible Napa County residents are fully immunized, and 70% of Monterey County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents are encouraged to visit https://myturn.ca.gov to find a vaccination site near them, many of whom now accept walk-in appointments.
Bay Area health workers said they plan to review mask recommendations in the coming weeks to determine if further action is needed, including the implementation of a new mask mandate. .
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Copyright © 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, rebroadcasting, or any other reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
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