Children will still be required to keep their masks on at school, though California will reassess that on Feb. 28.
FRESNO, Calif. -- California health officials lifted the statewide COVID-19 indoor mask mandate in public settings for vaccinated people on Feb.16 at 12:01 a.m.
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Officials argued that COVID's spread has also waned significantly across the region and that relaxing mask requirements is part of a shift toward a "new normal" of living with the virus rather than attempting to snuff out its spread completely.
"We are able to take this next major step of removing the universal indoor mask requirement because we have laid a strong foundation in good public health protections -- especially vaccines and boosters -- and know we can reduce severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths," Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Ori Tzvieli said.
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Children, however, are still required to keep their masks on at school for at least another two weeks.
Health & Human Services Agency Sec. Dr. Mark Ghaly announced Monday in a press conference that the state will reassess the current mask requirement for schools on Feb. 28.
Last week, Fresno County health officials said that while the county has likely passed its omicron peak, hospitals were still strained. Officials said it could be well into March before they begin operating normally.
This is why health leaders say the county isn't out of the woods just yet.
"While I know, people are really frustrated, and I know people want to rip off the mask. I do agree that statewide it was reasonable to expire it. We have to be a little careful about locally, where we have lower vaccination numbers, higher testing rate and higher COVID positive cases," said UCSF Fresno Mobile HEAL COVID-19 Equity Project member, Dr. Kenny Banh.
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The CDC has said cloth masks are not that effective against omicron, but Dr. Cody said residents in her county still need this protection.
"Masks are very important additional layer and have been throughout the pandemic," she said. "We need to layer up, need many layers in place when there's a lot of COVID circulating right now. We are still at the high levels of community transmission, we are in the CDC red, and that's why we are still requiring masks indoors."
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Here's some guidance from the state of California on current mask recommendations and requirements.
Face masks can help slow the spread of coronavirus and single layer cloth masks are the least effective, unless they are layered, preferably with three or more. Here is a list of masks recommended by the California government.
Most effective:
More effective:
Effective:
Least effective:
Whatever mask you wear, make sure it fits to your face closely and without gaps.
Yes. The state requires employers to provide unvaccinated employees with NIOSH-certified respirator masks for voluntary use when working indoors, or in a vehicle with others.
Unvaccinated workers must wear masks in state offices.
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