San Diego Now Requiring Facial Covering In Public

SAN DIEGO, CA — Masks are now required in public in San Diego, the county's public health officer announced Thursday in a statement. Residents must wear masks any time they're less than 6 feet from another person, or any time they're inside a business.

“Since we can’t be sure who is contagious, the best protection is to have everyone two years and older cover their face,” Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer, said in a statement.

Masks need not be medical- or hospital-grade, and health officials recommend reserving those for health care workers. Instead, residents are encouraged to wear homemade masks, bandanas, scarves or neck gaiters.

Wooten said residents should wear masks any time the are:

• Waiting in line to go inside a store
• Shopping in a store
• Picking up food at a restaurant
• Waiting for or riding on public transportation
• Riding in a taxi or ride service vehicle
• Seeking health care
• Going into facilities allowed to stay open
• Working an essential job that interacts with the public

Masks are not required for San Diegans when they are at home or in a car alone or with a member of the same household. The health department said residents are also excused from wearing a mask when advised by a medical doctor, if the wearer is less than 2-years-old or when hiking, swimming, walking, bicycling or running, as long as physical distance is maintained.

According to CDC, proper masks should:

• Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
• Be secured with ties or ear loops
• Include multiple layers of fabric
• Allow for breathing without restriction
• Be able to be washed and machine dried without damage or change to shape

Anyone disobeying the public health order could be cited by law enforcement or denied access to businesses, transit and recreational areas, Wooten said.