With a COVID-19 surge caused in part by the Delta variant and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending fully vaccinated people go back to wearing masks indoors, could California see another mask mandate just weeks after the state opened up?
UC San Francisco epidemiologist George Rutherford told KNX it is possible state health officials will issue an indoor mask recommendation but leave it up to each county to decide on a mandate. Rutherford added that it is hard to plan for things like an unprecedented pandemic.
"The problem is there's not a playbook for this," he said.
"You have to be flexible. You have to change. It's like battle plans in war where you walk in and it's not until the first bullets fire that everything has to be done. You know, it's a little bit less than organized after that."
Rutherford added that new data can lead to new guidance.
Meanwhile, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett told KNX she hopes to avoid another mask mandate, saying people are weary of pandemic restrictions.
"I think there could possibly be some resistance," she said.
" We have now been through this COVID pandemic going on well over a year and a half."
Health and state officials throughout the state have been implementing COVID-19 vaccine mandates for government employees, including in Los Angeles. Employees will be asked to show proof of vaccinations or hand in weekly negative COVID-19 tests.
