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Sonoma County health officials joined nine other Bay Area jurisdictions to establish a series of COVID-19 benchmarks for lifting indoor masking rules that have been in place since early August, at most. strong of the deadly summer wave.
Officials said the masking inside, along with the ongoing vaccination effort, has been effective in reducing rates of local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The improvements led to a consensus to lift the mask mandate.
“It is no coincidence that transmission is slowing down in Sonoma County. Public health interventions, including the masking requirement, are working, ”County health official Dr Sundari Mase said in a statement. “We believe that health orders, along with immunization, awareness and education all add layers of protection against COVID-19 in our community – and save lives. “
To lift indoor mask rules, Bay Area jurisdictions must meet the following goals:
● They must reach a moderate level (yellow) of COVID-19 transmission level, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and stay there for three weeks.
● COVID-19-related hospitalizations in the jurisdiction should be low and stable, in the judgment of the health worker.
● 80% of the total population of the jurisdiction should be fully immunized; or eight weeks must have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine was made available for children aged 5 to 11.
Projected dates for Sonoma County based on current case trends were not immediately available.
The counties that have reached agreement on benchmarks are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma and the city of Berkeley.
Officials said lifting a local indoor mask mandate would not prevent businesses, nonprofits, churches or others with public indoor spaces from imposing their own demands.
State masking rules will remain in effect after local masking requirements are lifted. This means that people who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will continue to wear masks in businesses and indoor public spaces, officials said.
State rules also require the wearing of masks for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, in health facilities, public transport, and care facilities for adults and the elderly. Masking inside schools is also required by the state and will not be affected if and when the county lifts its own mandate.
Officials pointed out that on October 26, an FDA advisory committee is expected to consider granting emergency clearance for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
You can contact Editor-in-Chief Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or [email protected]. On Twitter @pressreno.
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