Masks Required For Alameda County Healthcare Workers As Of Nov. 1

ALAMEDA COUNTY —For workers in certain healthcare facilities in Alameda County, Nov. 1 is a day to take off their Halloween mask and put on a surgical mask.

Due to a wave of RSV, flu, and COVID-19 in the winter of 2022-23, and another expected wave this winter, the Alameda County Public Health Department is requiring workers in the following facilities to wear “high-quality, well-fitting masks in patient care areas,” regardless of vaccination status:

• General acute care hospitals
• Long-term acute care hospitals
• Psychiatric hospitals
• Skilled nursing facilities
• Dialysis centers
• Infusion centers

The new order is in effect until April 30, when health officials will re-evaluate virus data.

The new order does not apply to the City of Berkeley, which has its own public health department. Berkeley passed an order requiring all healthcare facility and EMS employees to wear masks only if they decline to receive influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations. That order also goes into effect Wednesday and ends April 30.

Nearby counties have passed similar orders. Contra Costa, San Mateo, Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties are also requiring workers in healthcare facilities (though the exact definition varies by county) to wear masks starting Nov. 1. In Santa Clara County, that extends to anyone who enters a healthcare facility, including residents and visitors. In San Francisco, workers in healthcare facilities and jails must wear masks.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that this winter, respiratory diseases will result in as many or more hospitalizations than they did in 2022-23. These illnesses, which include COVID-19, Influenza, and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus, disproportionately affect the elderly and those living in healthcare facilities. Over 17 percent of the Alameda County residents who have died from COVID-19 since 2020 lived in skilled nursing facilities, even though they only represent 0.5 percent of the population, according to the Alameda County Public Health Department.

From November 2022 to April 2023, over 700 adults aged 60 or older were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Alameda County, and 122 adults 60 or over died. During the 2022-23 season, COVID-19, flu or RSV were at least partially responsible for over 5,400 deaths of people 65 or older across California, according to ACPHD.