8 Bay Area Health Officers Recommend Wearing Masks Indoors

BAY AREA, CA — Health officers in seven Bay Area counties plus Berkeley recommended Friday that all people, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors as COVID-19 cases are on the rise.

Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties joined Berkeley in the new guidelines as the highly transmissible delta variant becomes increasingly common. The announcement came a day after Los Angeles County mandated masks indoors for all as it grappled with an uptick in cases statewide.

The variant comprised four in 10 COVID-19 specimens sequenced in California as of June and was responsible for six in 10 new infections nationwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wearing masks in places such as stores and movie theaters will "ensure easy verification that all unvaccinated people are masked in those settings and as an extra precautionary measure for all," the health officers said in a joint statement.

Well-fitting masks should completely cover the nose and mouth and fit snugly around the nose and sides of the face.

Officials urged businesses to enact masking requirements for all customers entering an indoor business to protect workers and customers. Fully vaccinated employees were encouraged to wear masks, per state guidelines.

Officials continued to urge people to get fully vaccinated, as research indicated that all three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States are effective in preventing infection and serious illness.

People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. People with one dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are not fully protected.

Bay Area health officers said they will revisit the recommendation and continue to monitor COVID-19 related transmission rates, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccination rates.

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