Marin County health officials will lift a local mask mandate that required everyone to wear face coverings in indoor public places, effective at noon Monday, the county announced Friday.
Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s public health officer, explained the move represents a shift in the indoor mask requirement “from a legal mandate to a local recommendation,” he said.
He urged residents to continue to keep wearing masks indoors.
“Face covering has been and will remain a critical tool for preventing spread of the virus,” Willis said.
“The mandate helped get us through the fourth wave, but as the local picture improves, we’re shifting from a legal mandate to local recommendation,” Willis added. “This is part of the process of tiptoeing back toward normalcy.”
The mandate was put in place Aug. 2 as part of a Bay Area-wide public health response to the surge in cases related to the delta variant.
On Oct. 7, the same Bay Area counties established common criteria for lifting county-level mask mandates, recognizing counties would achieve those benchmarks at different intervals based on local numbers.
Marin County met the three criteria on Friday; Marin’s overall vaccination rate is above 80% of the population, hospitalizations have declined and remained low and the county has maintained 21 consecutive days of moderate, or “yellow,” level data on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention community transmission tracker.
Marin joins Alameda and Contra Costa counties in easing face-covering rules Monday.
Marin’s change does not impact face-covering requirements issued by the state for unvaccinated individuals, school settings, businesses or organizations requiring face coverings by policy.
In addition, some businesses may choose to continue requiring face coverings indoors for everyone, including those who are vaccinated.
For example, the Board of Supervisors will require face coverings for all in-person participants, regardless of vaccination status, beginning at its first hybrid board meeting on Tuesday.
“That means that folks can continue to call in on Zoom, and they can come to our board chambers,” County Administrator Matthew Hymel said. He said in-person attendance will be “subject to reduced capacity limits, and also masks will be required.”
Marin residents are asked to continue respecting the various requirements still in place at the county and other locations by carrying and being prepared to wear face coverings while in public.
Marin has become one of the most COVID-vaccinated counties in the United States. As of Oct. 28, 93.4% of the Marin population over age 12 – more than 222,000 people – had completed a COVID-19 vaccination series.
However, approximately 47,000 individuals in Marin have not completed a vaccine series or remain unvaccinated — including young children.
“High vaccination rates, and understanding the value of face covering, has made it possible to begin to lift restrictions,” Willis said. “I’m confident our community knows what to do to limit COVID-19 risk.”
Willis urged continued use of masks “to be more secure coming into the winter months,” he said.
“Remember, masks work both ways,” he said. “They protect you and the people around you, including those who are too young and not eligible yet to be vaccinated.”
Businesses that would like to post a sign to let customers know about their mask policies may visit coronavirus.marinhhs.org to see templates they may use.
Different versions are available for state-oriented mask requirements that specify mandates for unvaccinated people, and others for universal masking, including those including people who are vaccinated.
Source: www.mercurynews.com