SAN DIEGO — Amid rising Covid-19 cases and fears that the highly transmissible omicron variant could spark a new wave of infections, the nation’s largest state is reimposing its indoor mask mandate, officials announced Monday.
California’s mandate resumes Wednesday and will last at least a month, at which time the state health department “will make further recommendations as needed,” according to a statement.
It applies regardless of vaccination status.
California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said an anticipated wave of gatherings during the year-end holidays — muted by last year’s pandemic restrictions — influenced the decision to bring back the mandate.
The rule was reimplemented “to ensure we get through a time of joy and hope without a darker cloud of concern and despair,” he said at an afternoon teleconference.
The mandate does not apply to private gatherings, however.
“Wearing a mask is going to be one of the most important things to get us through this period of uncertainty,” Ghaly said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stood by its recommendations for the fully vaccinated, which include the following: “In general, you do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings.”
It does recommend indoor mask-wearing for “areas with high numbers of Covid-19 cases.”
Vaccination is not foolproof, but it has shown that those who are inoculated, especially with boosters, are less likely to need hospitalization if they contract Covid.
Even without a significant impact thus far from the omicron variant, the state’s seven-day average case rate has increased 47 percent since Thanksgiving, the state health department said. Hospitalizations were up 14 percent.
State health officials also recommended Monday that travelers arriving to California or returning home have a negative antigen test that’s less than one day old or a negative PCR test that’s less than two days old.
They also mandated those testing rules for “mega-events” such as concerts and sporting events.
On June 16, as a result of lower transmission attributed to vaccination, so-called lockdowns and mask rules, the state lifted many of its pandemic regulations. Masks were no longer required for the vaccinated.
In October, officials in the state’s largest county, Los Angeles, published details of updated pandemic guidelines, including the rule that mask-wearing indoors is mandatory regardless of vaccination status.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
