Mask Mandate Takes Effect In Alameda County Tuesday

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — A mask mandate will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties as well as Berkeley.

The mask requirement is for indoors in public places, even for vaccinated people.

It's in response to a surge in cases caused by the delta variant.

Health officials in the seven counties also urged residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible if they have yet to do so, noting that the prevalence of the delta variant puts unvaccinated people at even higher risk of infection, serious illness and death.

While so-called breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated people are possible, the health officials noted they remain exceedingly rare and the three available vaccines also significantly reduce the chance of developing serious illness or dying from COVID-19.

“Face coverings are a simple and effective tool that everyone can use to slow the spread COVID- 19,” said Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County Health Officer. “Using face masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status, will help us protect each other and end this summer surge.”

The consideration of reinstating the mandate follows a California Department of Public Health formal recommendation issued Wednesday that state residents resume wearing a face covering indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.

The CDPH recommendation came one day after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued similar guidance for people who live in areas with high COVID-19 case and transmission rates.

According to CDPH officials, more than 90 percent of the state's population lives in areas with "substantial or high" transmission of the virus, driven primarily by the ultra-contagious delta variant and a wave of new cases that are almost exclusively among the unvaccinated.

"The delta variant has caused a sharp increase in hospitalizations and case rates across the state," CDPH Director and state Public Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon. "We are recommending masking in indoor public places to slow the spread while we continue efforts to get more Californians vaccinated."

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that state employees and health care workers will be required to get vaccinated if they haven't already or get tested at least once a week.

State and local officials have so far shied away from committing to a full vaccination mandate, instead opting to work with community-based organizations to persuade eligible residents to get vaccinated and frequently reiterating the vaccines' safety and efficacy at preventing severe illness and death.

"We're mindful that there are a lot of people that are still anxious, a lot of people that still need to work with doctors and private settings to work through those anxieties," Newsom said Tuesday.

Newsom has frequently argued that potential mask and vaccination mandates will be unnecessary provided that enough residents get vaccinated to quell new outbreaks of the virus.

State residents can find a vaccination clinic by visiting here.

— Bea Karnes/ Patch and Bay City News contributed to this report