New Contra Costa Co. Mask Mandate May Be Imminent: Report

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano will join his counterparts from six other Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley today to announce new coronavirus guidelines that could include a new mask mandate, KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern reports.

The announcement is scheduled for noon according to the report.

Health officers from San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma County along with the city of Berkeley will jointly livestream the announcement.

Momentum for a new mask mandate for all, include those fully vaccinated, has grown in recent days amid a delta variant-fueled case surge.

“We are carefully monitoring local transmission data and will notify the public promptly if there is a need to modify or update local health orders,” said Karl Fischer, a Contra Costa County spokesperson told The San Francisco Chronicle last week.

Marin spokeswoman Laine Hendricks told The Chronicle last week that the nation's most vaccinated county is considering a new mandate as an "option" amid an uptick in cases of the coronavirus.

"We still have not yet changed any recommendations," Hendricks said.

"But given increased case rates both locally and regionally, including breakthrough cases, we are closely monitoring our data and considering it as an option if the data warrants.”

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President David Canepa told NBC Bay Area Sunday that he expects a new mandate this week that will involve multiple Bay Area counties.

Bay Area health officials have for the most part worked in lockstep in enacting COVID-19 restrictions since announcing shelter orders on March 16, 2020.

“Later this week, there will be an announcement from the counties. I think it's highly likely. I think it's highly probable and that is based on the transmission levels,” he said.

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.

— Bay City News contributed to this report