California dropping indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people Wednesday
OAKLAND, Calif. - Breathing may get a little easier come Wednesday when California is set to lift its mask mandate in most indoor settings for vaccinated people.
The easing of face coverings takes effect at midnight on Jan. 16 and applies to fully vaccinated people. Unvaccinated people must still wear masks in public settings.
The California Department of Public Health said the winter surge of Covid-19 omicron cases and hospitalizations is down significantly and it's now time to for the universal indoor masking requirement to end.
Masks will still be required in some indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status, including:
- Public transit
- Emergency shelters and cooling and heating centers
- Healthcare settings
- State and local correctional facilities and detention centers
- Homeless shelters
- Long Term Care Settings & Adult and Senior Care Facilities
- K-12 schools, childcare
Masks will also be required at San Francisco City Hall and other city facilities, according to officials, regardless of vaccination status.
The City of Vallejo will consider keeping its mask mandate in place, and may make a decision during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
Bay Area counties, except Santa Clara, loosening indoor mask requirements
Fully vaccinated people will no longer need to wear masks in many indoor settings in much of the Bay Area, beginning Feb. 16. Only Santa Clara County announced that it will keep the mask mandate in place for vaccinated people. However, everyone must still wear a mask on public transit and in schools and high-risk settings in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, San Francisco, Solano and Sonoma counties.
Santa Clara County is the only Bay Area county where you still have to wear a face mask in most settings. A health department spokesperson said the pressure on hospitals and 7-day rolling average of new cases keeps dropping, but Santa Clara County will still require face coverings in indoor settings just a little longer.
Despite California’s changes, a federal mask mandate applies at airports across the country.