Just a day after California issued updated guidance recommending all residents wear face masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, Sacramento County has issued a health order requiring indoor masking.
Health officials made the announcement, which applies to residents even if they've been vaccinated, in a Twitter thread early Thursday because of "continued day-over-day case rate increases of COVID-19" due to the delta variant. Sacramento County's daily case rate has risen from 5.2 on June 24 to 18.3 as of July 20, according to data provided by the county.
Sacramento County currently lists 149 confirmed cases, "however not every specimen is tested for the variants – so actual numbers may be much higher," health officials explained.
"The continued increase in cases is concerning – universal indoor use of masks, is the least disruptive and most immediately impactful measure to take to slow the rate of transmission," said Sacramento County Public Health Officer Olivia Kasirye. "Our best protection against COVID-19 continues to be the vaccine. We urge all eligible residents to get vaccinated in order to protect themselves, and their family and friends."
The mandate applies to indoor public settings, venues, gatherings and workplaces – including offices, retail stores, restaurants and bars, theaters, family entertainment centers, conference centers, and state and local government offices serving the public.
Preceding the state's announcement on Wednesday, many counties in the Bay Area have had already issued masking recommendations for public indoor settings, but yet to revise them to mandates for those situations.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Wednesday the city is considering mask mandates for both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents, adding "we are looking at mandatory vaccines for folks who are not necessarily just city employees." She didn't commit to the moves or offer further details, but clarified that she's looking into it with the City Attorney's Office.
Read Sacramento County's full mandate here.
Related
