It has been several weeks since both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and California officials said it was safe to stop wearing your mask outside in most places.
But you may not notice a difference walking around the Bay Area, where many people continue to wear their masks outside around other people.
While there is some discrepancy between the CDC and California’s current rules on wearing masks indoors, both the CDC and state officials agree that it is safe for everyone to go without a mask outside when you are not coming into close contact with people outside your household. That means short encounters like passing someone on the street are safe when maskless, but masks should be work at an outdoor gathering.
Fully vaccinated people can also go maskless in almost any setting except for a crowded space like a sporting event.
In Alameda County, nearly 75% of those 16 and older have had at least one shot and on Tuesday morning, every resident we spoke to said they were aware of the changes in regulations, but all of them were wearing their masks anyway.
“Outside in an uncrowded area, I do take my mask off. I leave it slung down until I see somebody and then I put it up,” said one woman, who described herself as ‘emotionally scarred’ from the pandemic. “It’s going to take a while.”
She expressed some doubt as to whether or not it was really safe.
“It feels like the CDC is the mother who’s just tired of listening to the kids whine about getting a treat you know? It’s like ‘fine just take your mask off,’” she joked. “So is it completely safe or is it not? I don’t know yet.”
Many others we spoke to said that they would continue to wear masks around strangers, partly out of consideration for people like her who still feel nervous.
“If I’m in a public place and a lot of people have it on, I’ll put it on. But if not, I won’t have it on,” said one man.
Another man said he continues to wear his because his kids are not old enough to be vaccinated yet, and he wants to set an example for them.
Others said if they are running errands and need their mask to go inside stores, it is just more convenient to keep the mask on the whole time.
Another common thread was simply that old habits are hard to break.
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