Bay Area Counties Reinstate Indoor Mask Mandate Starting Today

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals must mask up in public indoor settings.

Following California’s recommendation that everyone wear masks indoors again, many counties across the state are now placing mandates to enforce indoor public masking. According to a press release from yesterday, indoor masking is now mandatory in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma,
and the City of Berkeley. Napa and Solano are the only Bay Area counties that haven’t joined the mandate. The mandate is in place starting today, Tuesday, August 3.

Everyone is now required to wear a mask in indoor public places, even if they are vaccinated. When wearing face coverings indoors, we’re protecting our community & helping our healthcare workers. Read more about the updated masking guidelines: https://t.co/x3Y8jpBRsK 😷 #MaskUpSF pic.twitter.com/uh0HXYQG7h

— SFDPH (@SF_DPH) August 3, 2021

“COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in protecting people against severe illness and hospitalizations, and the vaccine continues to be our best way to protect ourselves, our families and our communities,” said Dr. Naveena Bobba, San Francisco Acting Health Officer. “Indoor masking is a temporary measure that will help us deal with the Delta variant, which is causing a sharp increase in cases, and we know increases in hospitalizations and deaths will follow. When we all wear face coverings indoors, we are protecting our fellow residents and helping our healthcare workers.”

The universal indoor mask recommendation comes as a result of the Delta variant, which accounts for over 80% of cases sequenced in California. This variant is twice as contagious as early Covid variants, and although vaccinated people are protected from having a severe case of Covid, they can still pass the virus to unvaccinated individuals.

San Francisco is one of the most vaccine-willing cities in the US, with 76% of all San Franciscans having received at least 1 dose. That’s 84% of residents over 12 years old.

Featured image: Anna Shvets via Pexels