Less than a month after the Capitol in Sacramento opened its doors, the mask mandate is back.
Effective immediately, masks must be worn in the Capitol, Legislative office building and district offices.
The rule returns after there were nine new COVID-19 cases in the building in the last few weeks, even among those who've been vaccinated.
At least seven of the nine infected in the covid outbreak reportedly worked in the same assembly office which has not been identified.
More than 80 percent of employees in the Senate and Assembly are fully vaccinated, but four of the nine infected had been vaccinated.
"It makes sense to wear a mask right now with a lot of travelers coming to the Bay Area and California," said professor of medicine and associate dean of regional campuses at UCSF, Peter Chin Hong.
According to Chin Hong, those who get infected after vaccination are less likely to suffer the most serious symptoms and be hospitalized.
It's not yet known if those infected had the Delta variant, the dominant variant in the state, making up 35% of cases.
"It's probably going to reach over 90% soon, in a matter of weeks," said Chin Hong.
Starting Thursday morning, unvaccinated members and employees at the capitol will be required to get tested for the virus twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.
