Contra Costa Co. Snags Mask Mandate Exemptions

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – State officials on Tuesday announced that Marin gyms and businesses that require proof of vaccinations will be exempt from a new mask mandate.

The about-face followed Monday’s California Department of Public Health announcement that the state was reinstating a mask mandate for indoor settings regardless of vaccination status.

Marin is among four counties that got the exemption. San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa are the others.

“For local health jurisdictions that had pre-existing masking requirements irrespective of vaccine status, in indoor public settings, prior to December 13, 2021, those local health orders continue to apply,” the state’s revised health order says.

The state’s reinstatement of the mask mandate comes amid a delta-fueled national surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks and worries over hyper-contagious omicron, which is rages in other parts of the world.

The state's new health order would have superseded Marin's ordinance before the exemptions were announced. Marin lifted its mask mandate on Nov. 1.

Despite a high vaccination rate, California hasn't been impervious to the recent COVID-19 case surge.

Since Thanksgiving, cases statewide have risen 47 percent and hospitalizations by 14 percent, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

"In response to the increase in cases and hospitalizations, and to slow the spread of both delta and the highly transmissible omicron variant, CDPH has issued updated guidance to curb the spread of COVID-19 and its variants," the agency said in a statement.

The state's new health order also includes a recommendation that travelers arriving in California be tested three to five days after arrival, regardless of vaccination status, and that testing requirement for indoor "mega events" be within one day for rapid (antigen) tests and two days for PCR tests.

Contra Costa County already had its own rules about indoor mask use, but the new order applies statewide.Masks must be worn in all indoor public spaces through Jan. 15 as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surged post-Thanksgiving, the California Department of Public Health said.

Contra Costa County allows fully vaccinated people to remove masks indoors in areas not open to the public such as offices, gyms, indoor college classes or organized gatherings such as religious gatherings."

The limited exceptions we made are for very low-risk scenarios where everyone is vaccinated," said Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano in a statement Wednesday. "Our community already understands and is following these rules and it would be confusing to change them for just one month."

— Patch Editor Courtney Teague contributed to this report