SLO County ‘strongly urges’ all residents to wear masks indoors in public places
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department is urging all residents to cover their faces indoors in an effort to limit the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus.
The agency “strongly recommends that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wears a mask indoors in public places,” officials said in an Aug. 18 news release.
Public Health officials also called on businesses to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering indoor areas “to provide better protection to their employees and customers,” the release said.
Those businesses include grocery stores, retail shops, restaurants, bars, fitness centers, theaters and family entertainment centers.
Dr. Penny Borenstein, county Public Health officer, said at an Aug. 18 news conference that she views the recommendation as a “first step,” and she could implement further steps if it’s not effective.
“That is what we’re asking of our partners — in the public sector, in the private business world — to do based on what is in front of us in terms of disease, to take that civic responsibility,” Borenstein said.
“If that does not change the nature of the curve that’s in front of us, we’d be open to considering other actions,” Borenstein added. “But at this point in time, I have always said I do not relish the public health authority that I’ve been given. And I will only use it cautiously and judiciously and as needed.”
The county called masking a “proven public health strategy to limit the spread of infection” and said it’s “a key tool for continued safe reopening.”
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) requires unvaccinated people to wear masks indoors and has recommended all people wear them since late July.
In addition, the state requires face coverings for everyone indoors at schools, health care clinics, senior care centers and correctional facilities, as well as on public transportation.
Masks should cover the nose and mouth and fit snugly against the side of the face, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department said.
COVID-19 cases in San Luis Obispo County have increased dramatically over the past four weeks, with the county reporting 100 active cases on July 16 and 1,250 active cases on Aug. 17.
SLO County’s coronavirus case rate is currently 33.9, the highest it has been since January.
To date, 1,551 new cases of the virus have been reported locally in the first two weeks of August, compared to 163 new cases in the entire month of June.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 3:41 PM.
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