Following similar moves in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Yolo counties, several Bay Area counties – including San Francisco and the City of Berkeley – have issued updated guidelines for indoor masking "to buy time" as the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread.
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, Sonoma and San Mateo make up the group of counties joining San Francisco and Berkeley in Friday's joint announcement. The update guidance applies to people indoors in public settings, San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Phillip told KCBS Radio.
People are recommended to wear masks indoors in settings like grocery or retail stores, theaters and family entertainment centers, and businesses are "urged to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering indoor areas," a press release said.
While workplaces are urged to continue following Cal/OSHA mandates, employees are encouraged to continue wearing face masks "if their employer has not confirmed the vaccination status of those around them."
"We don't believe that it has to be a mandate at this time," Dr. Philips said of the recommendations. "What we really want to be able to do is to pause a bit on the sharp increase in the cases until we can assess a little bit more about what is going to happen with our hospitalization rates and to make sure that we can protect some of our most vulnerable communities, which remain relatively unvaccinated."
"This decision was writing on the wall," UCSF Professor of Medicine, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong told KCBS Radio's Liz Saint John shortly after the joint announcement was made on Friday.
"My prediction is because cases are going to continue (going up) this may end up going to a mandate at some point," he added.
When asked about a possible update to San Francisco's masking guidance on Thursday, Mayor London Breed teased Friday’s announcement, but stopped short of confirming specifics.
Yolo and Sacramento counties' indoor masking guidelines were also recommendations.
In LA, officials issued a strict mask mandate on Thursday requiring residents to wear face coverings indoors regardless of vaccination status as new COVID-19 infections there topped 1,000 for the seventh straight day.
By comparison, San Francisco's daily COVID-19 cases increased to 42 for the week of July 7 from 9.9 on June 19. The number is projected to increase to at least 80 per day.
"I'm very concerned about the increase in cases," Dr. Philip said.
Officials attribute the uptick in cases to the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which is leading to higher positivity rates among Black at Latino residents. Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the strain as the country's dominant variant.
Bay Area health officials are expected to review the guidance on indoor masking "within a few weeks," Dr. Philip added.
Officials and public health experts have said the delta variant poses a significant risk to people who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19.
LA’s mandate goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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