Sonoma County Group Urges Officials To Keep School Mask Mandate

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A collective of community organizations and Sonoma County residents joined forces this week to urge the Sonoma County Health Department to retain its school mask mandate, citing inequities in COVID testing and protections among the Latinx community.

Following Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement Monday that schoolchildren in California will no longer be required to wear face coverings starting March 14, the Sonoma County Office of Education said Monday it will work the county's 40 local school district to explain and ensure compliance with the new mask guidance.

The citizens' demand to keep the shool mask mandate in place, according to the North Bay Organizing Project, comes two weeks after more than 100 local leaders and organizations submitted a letter to Dr. Sundari Mase, public health officer of Sonoma County, raising concerns about the mid-February decision to lift the public mask mandate.

"The County has made a verbal commitment to address inequity, and this is one critical time to put that commitment into action by keeping the school mask mandate in place until we ensure equitable access to the tools we know keep people safe: rapid tests, high-quality masks, education about new paid sick leave laws," said Dr. Jenny Fish, co-founder of Health Professionals for Equity and Community Empowerment, or HPEACE. "Omicron is still with us, and it is still having a disproportionate impact on our Latinx and immigrant community."

Latinx residents comprise 23.7 percent of Sonoma County's population and represent 50 percent of COVID cases, 40 percent of coronavirus-related hospitalizations and 31 percent of deaths related to the virus.

The Latinx community also lags behind the general population in COVID vaccine boosters, with 48 percent of those eligible who are boosted compared to 78 percent in the white community, according to the North Bay Organizing Project.

The number of cases in Sonoma County schools since the winter break ended has nearly tripled, from 1,390 to 3,890 amid the Omicron surge. Case numbers among children younger than 17 years increased from 15 percent before Omicron to 28 percent of overall case rates. Latinx students make up 43.8 percent of the population and 49.3 percent of the cases, and surpass the case rates across all age groups.

While 77 percent of the 12- to 17-year-olds in Sonoma County were fully or partially vaccinated as of last week, more than half of children 5-11 in the county have not received their first dose of the vaccine.

"As we move toward easing masking requirements, it’s important to remember that vaccines remain an important tool in limiting the spread and severity of COVID-19," Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools Steven Herrington said in a news release Monday about the state lifting the school mask mandate.

"Right now, only about half of children ages 5 to 11 have received a shot, and improving on that number will be essential in keeping future case surges and mandates at bay," Herrington said.

According to the Sonoma County Office of Education, the state will continue to provide schools with ways to curb the spread, such as testing and masks. SCOE said it will encourage vulnerable school populations such as children not eligible for vaccination, those with compromised immune systems, and those with chronic condition to continue wearing masks at school.

"Even though California will no longer require masks to be worn in classrooms, masks will be strongly recommended," the Sonoma County Office of Education said. "Most importantly, all students will be treated equally regardless of vaccination status. Local health departments and school boards will be able to require their own masking policies in schools which are appropriate for their communities."