Berkeley Opts Out Of County Mask Mandate

BERKELEY, CA — For now, Berkeley is strongly recommending that all people wear facial coverings in indoor settings amid the most recent Omicron subvariant-fueled case surge.

But despite Alameda County reinstatement of its mask mandate – which went into effect Friday – the East Bay city known for marching to its own beat is opting out of the requirement, making it the city of 123,000 an outlier in a county of 1.6 million.

Berkeley is unique in having its own health officer that establishes such mandates.

“Our Health Officer and those from around the region have *strongly* recommended that everyone mask indoors in public settings,” city officials Tweeted.

“In Berkeley, that remains a strong recommendation.”

According to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard, as of Monday Berkeley’s 7-day test positivity rate is 4.35 percent and its 7-day case rate per 100,000 is 36.45.

“While we support other health officers’ decisions to use whatever tools are appropriate for their jurisdictions,” Berkeley spokesman Matthai Chakko toldBerkeleyside.

“The data in Berkeley does not currently warrant a health order, according to Health Officer Dr. Lisa B. Hernandez.”