Face Masks No Longer Required Indoors In Santa Cruz Co.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Face masks are no longer required in indoor public spaces, the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency announced Wednesday.

The county said rescinding the face covering policy was effective immediately. But officials strongly recommend continued indoor mask use.

Businesses, venues, schools and other organizations may continue to require patrons or guests to wear masks inside their establishments even though the county won't.

"Face coverings and vaccinations continue to be the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect yourself and loved ones from infection," the agency said in a statement.

The policy change came after Santa Cruz County on Wednesday moved down a notch to the moderate level of COVID-19 transmission, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

The CDC recommended indoor mask use in counties where transmission is deemed to be high or substantial. The moderate tier is just below those two categories and the second-lowest transmission level designated by the CDC.

Santa Cruz County's transmission level is lower than that of California overall, where transmission is considered to be substantial. All states except for California and Connecticut — which both have moderate transmission — have a high COVID-19 transmission level, according to the CDC.

Officials continued to encourage residents to get vaccinated following the recent COVID-19-related deaths of five unvaccinated people in the county. Those deaths were the first recorded since May as the highly contagious delta variant continued to circulate in the community.

In all, Santa Cruz County has seen 213 COVID-19-related deaths and more than 19,000 known cases.

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