Here’s what California’s indoor mask-wearing mandate means for SLO County
The state of California has imposed a universal indoor mask mandate beginning Dec. 15, but not much will change for San Luis Obispo County residents who have been under a similar directive since September.
On Tuesday, the California Health and Human Services Agency announced the indoor mask mandate, which will be in effect for one month, lasting through the holidays and into the New Year. It was prompted by an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases across California in recent weeks, state officials said.
The state’s mandate is essentially what San Luis Obispo County already mandated Sept. 1, after the Delta variant caused a surge in cases, a San Luis Obispo County Public Health representative said Monday.
“We have been advocating for mask wearing since the initial implementation of our mask mandate,” Public Health spokeswoman Michelle Shoresman said.
She said the county public health department has been trying to encourage compliance from the public and local business owners by creating mask mandate signage and answering questions and taking information about noncompliance at the phone assistance center.
“I’m not really sure what else we could do,” she said.
The state mandate will impact roughly half of California’s population in counties that do not already have a similar mandate, according to Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary.
Ghaly said that he expects enforcement of the universal indoor mask mandate will be stronger in some counties than others.
The California mask mandate was prompted by a 47% increase in coronavirus cases across the state in the past two and a half weeks, Ghaly said. The case rate increased from roughly 9.6 cases per 100,000 to 14 cases per 100,000 since Thanksgiving, he said.
In San Luis Obispo County, the COVID-19 case rate actually exceeds that of the state, with roughly 41 cases per 100,000 as of Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ghaly said California learned from schools that universal indoor mask mandates can protect against transmission and reduce case numbers.
“As we look at the evidence that masks do make a difference,” Ghaly said. “Even a 10% increase in indoor masking can reduce case transmission significantly.”
New coronavirus testing requirements announced
Other new requirements announced Monday pertain to testing timelines for events over 1,000 attendees.
Now, the state requires attendees who do not show proof of vaccination to have proof of a negative test taken within one day if it is an antigen test, or within two days if its a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
The antigen test is often called a rapid COVID test, while the PCR test can take slightly longer to process.
This decision was made considering the availability of COVID-19 tests and quicker turnaround times for PCR tests, Ghaly said. Also, because new variants such as Delta or Omicron are proving to be more transmissible, he said.
Shoresman said she isn’t entirely sure how this testing requirement will impact San Luis Obispo County, because she isn’t sure how many venues or events of more than 1,000 people will be held in the county at this time.
Ghaly said his department is also encouraging businesses to practice better indoor ventilation to prevent transmission of the airborne coronavirus, which thrives in tightly packed, indoor settings.
The agency’s final recommendation is that travelers visiting California or returning to California after traveling outside the state get tested within three to five days of arrival.
“We know people are tired and hungry for normalcy — frankly I am too,” Ghaly said. “That said, this is a critical time where we have a tool that we know has worked and can work. We are proactively putting this tool of universal indoor masking in public settings in place to ensure we get through a time of joy and hope without a darker cloud of concern or despair.”
