Los Angeles County on Thursday reinstituted a mask mandate for all residents, regardless of their vaccination status against COVID-19, amid increasing case numbers and the spread of the Delta variant.
Will San Francisco follow suit?
Hours before LA County officials reinstated its mask mandate, San Francisco Mayor London Breed stopped short of saying the city would also bring back its own. But new guidance could be issued in the coming days.
"We are considering, basically, providing guidance on suggested mask-wearing in certain instances," Breed said Thursday in a press conference with reporters. "We do ask that people who are not vaccinated, when they go indoors, that they wear masks. ... We don't necessarily have a mask requirement further than that, but we are looking at a change to the policy, but not necessarily a mandate."
City officials said in a release Thursday that daily COVID-19 cases increased to 42 for the week of July 7, the last for which complete data is available, from 9.9 on June 19. That number is projected to increase to at least 73 per day, using forward-looking data compiled through July 12.
Director of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax said in the press conference Thursday that the increase is due to the Delta variant, and that Black and Latino residents are testing positive at higher rates.
LA County has been considerably harder hit, and San Francisco also has a higher vaccination rate. The city said Thursday that 76% of its residents aged 12 or older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Still, San Francisco is pushing to raise that percentage, particularly among populations testing positive more frequently. Just over 53% of the city's Black residents are fully vaccinated, as are 63.5% of Latino residents. Meanwhile, the city estimates about 60.6% of white residents are fully vaccinated.
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