New Mask Order Takes Effect In Contra Costa County

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY —For workers in most healthcare facilities in Contra Costa County, Nov. 1 is a day to put away the Halloween mask and put on a surgical mask.

To provide a layer of protection to patients against COVID-19, the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and other viral infections, a new health order took effect Wednesday. Specifically, the order requires healthcare workers to wear masks when in an enclosed space in a healthcare facility where a patient is present, or otherwise providing direct care to a patient at a healthcare facility, during the respiratory virus season, Nov. 1 through April 30.

"While patients and visitors may be recommended to mask, all healthcare workers are required to mask in healthcare settings effective today, November 1st," Contra Costa Health Services wrote in an email to Patch. "This mandate applies to healthcare workers in acute care facilities (hospitals), dialysis centers, infusion centers and chemotherapy centers. This does not necessarily apply to skilled nursing facilities as they are required to mask year-round."

The mask mandate is similar to orders passed by the nearby counties of Alameda, San Mateo, Marin, Napa and Sonoma. While the exact definition varies by county, masks became mandatory Wednesday.

In Santa Clara County, the order extends to any person who enters a healthcare facility, including residents and visitors.

In San Francisco, workers in healthcare facilities and jails must wear masks.

Berkeley, which has its own public health department, passed an order requiring all healthcare facility and emergency medical services employees to wear masks only if they decline to receive flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. That order also went into effect Wednesday and ends April 30.

According to Contra Costa's order dated Sept. 18, historical data show higher rates of infection by COVID-19, flu, RSV and other viruses in Contra Costa County annually between late fall and spring.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that this winter, respiratory diseases will result in as many or more hospitalizations than they did last winter.

"The seasonal surges risk overwhelming healthcare facilities in the county, jeopardizing the capacity to provide care for these and other patients," the Contra Costa health order states."The masking of personnel in these facilities is necessary to provide a layer of protection to patients during the respiratory season when risk of exposure is highest."

View a PDF of Contra Costa's health order: