Most Bay Area counties are lifting indoor mask mandates next week, but is the decision premature?
Despite the concerns, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, Pressor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Regional Campuses at UCSF, told KCBS Radio "Ask An Expert" we're going to be just fine.
"I think we're going to be okay because just given what the COVID's done in many other locations, I think there's no turning back now," he said.
Due to the transmissibility of the COVID-19 omicron variant and the high vaccination rates in the Bay Area, Chin-Hong believes we will be in the clear for at least a few months. "Unless we get a new crazy variant, like something from the sewer or Denmark with BA.2, I doubt that we are really going to see another surge until later on in the year," he said.
Comparing the summer delta surge to omicron, the UCSF doctor explained we are in a much better position now, but encouraged residents to not feel forced to take off their masks.
"It really is moving from a collective responsibility of protection to an individual level and that's really an important point because it doesn't mean that we don’t wear masks in these transition periods," he said. "There's still a lot of virus floating around and I think it's important not to feel peer pressured to not wear your mask."
Until COVID-19 cases drop down to the amount they were around Thanksgiving, when San Francisco was averaging 60 new cases a day, Chin-Hong advised it is a good idea to wear your mask in crowded indoor places.
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