Most vaccinated Californians can ditch their masks. Here’s what it means for SLO County
California is lifting its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people, but the change won’t affect life in San Luis Obispo County, where a local order remains in place.
On Monday, the California Department of Public Health announced that the state’s mask requirement for vaccinated people in most indoor settings will end on Feb. 16.
The requirement, which began in December as COVID-19 cases climbed amid the spread of the omicron variant, won’t be extended again because infection rates are dropping statewide.
Unvaccinated people will still be required to wear masks in public indoor settings, as will people living in counties that still have more stringent requirements.
San Luis Obispo County is one of those places.
“Masking is a proven public health measure and an important tool in limiting the spread of disease,” said Michelle Shoresman, spokeswoman for Public Health, said in an email statement.
San Luis Obispo County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein regularly reviews current local metrics, including transmission levels, health system capacity, vaccination rates and availability of COVID-19 treatments when deciding local masking requirements, Shoresman said.
“Returning to indoor masking for a period of time has helped protect our hospital capacity, protect many of our most vulnerable neighbors, and help keep our economy open during surges fueled by the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19,” Shoresman said.
The state Public Health Department will still require masks on public transit, homeless shelters, long-term care facilities and health care settings.
The state’s additional testing requirements for people visiting nursing homes during the omicron surge also expired Monday at midnight.
School mask rules won’t change yet, but the administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom is working on an update to those that the governor will announce soon, chief strategist Anthony York said.
“We’re looking at our school masking policy and continuing to work with education stakeholders to update our masking requirement and adapt to changing conditions,” York told The Sacramento Bee. “The governor is going to lay out a plan next week.”
The announcement came hours after the governor of New Jersey announced he is lifting mask requirements for schools in his state.
After a peak last month, coronavirus cases are dropping quickly in California. The state saw its all-time record in early January, when it averaged nearly 300 new cases per 100,000 residents per day. Since then, the rate has dropped closer to 100 new cases per day.
At its peak in mid-January, San Luis Obispo County recorded more than 220 average new cases per 100,000 residents per day. Now, that rate has fallen to 92.
SLO County recorded 14,659 new COVID-19 cases in January, which accounts for 30% of the pandemic’s total.
Despite an all-time spike in cases, the state’s death rate did not come close to the peak it hit last winter, when the state was recording more than 700 deaths per day. During the omicron spike, the state recorded about 140 deaths per day.
“Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving,” CDPH Director Dr. Tomás J. Aragón wrote in a statement. “With things moving in the right direction, we are making responsible modifications to COVID-19 prevention measures, while also continuing to develop a longer-term action plan for the state.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Most vaccinated Californians can ditch their masks. Here’s what it means for SLO County."
