Mask Mandate Not Returning In San Mateo County Yet, Per Health Officer

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — San Mateo County will hold off on following Alameda County in reinstating an indoor masking requirement in public spaces amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, officials announced Thursday.

The county said it was not issuing an order "at this time," instead urging residents to "choose to mask indoors," stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations, test when symptomatic and talk to a doctor about therapeutics after a positive test.

Alameda County's public health department issued a mandate Thursday that everyone — regardless of vaccination status or past coronavirus infection history — cover their faces while indoors in workplaces and other public settings, with few exceptions. Businesses were also recommended to make face coverings available for customers.

Related: Mask Mandate Returns To Alameda County For Indoors

"Critically, the County's reported cases are reaching those levels despite the fact that COVID-19 case reports are a substantial underestimate of total case burden, because they do not include home testing results and unidentified infections," the order said.

Alameda County was the first in the Bay Area to reissue a mask mandate, but no other county had followed suit as of Thursday afternoon. During the pandemic, many local health orders were made in unison across the Bay Area's public health officers.