What to expect from North Bay mask mandates in the months ahead

On the heels of nine Bay Area jurisdictions last week laying out plans for when they will independently lift indoor masking mandates, Marin County’s public health department subsequently announced it will ease some of those restrictions — with caveats — starting Oct. 15, the county reported late Friday.

Indoor masking restrictions will end in fitness centers, offices, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings and college classes for those who can show proof of being fully vaccinated, county health officials said. Further, an indoor gathering must be contained to 100 people and not be open to the general public, and the person in charge must keep a list of the number of people present.

“We’re not ready to lift the mandate across the board, but we’re in a good place to ease restrictions for the safest settings.” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County’s public health officer. “Science shows that when an entire group is vaccinated, the risk of infection is much lower. Some settings have already adopted mandatory vaccination policies for all staff and customers, and this gives more incentive for others to follow suit.”

It was on Oct. 7 when health officials for the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma and the city of Berkeley stated in a joint press release that “it is time to plan for a transition.”

The decision comes two months after most Bay Area health departments issued indoor masking requirements for their respective jurisdictions in the face of a summer surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the release stated.

The agreed upon criteria for lifting the indoor masking requirement in public spaces that are not subject to state masking rules, will happen when all three of the following occur in each jurisdiction:

• The jurisdiction reaches the moderate (yellow) COVID-19 transmission tier, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and remains there for at least three weeks.
• COVID-19 hospitalizations in the jurisdiction are low and stable, in the judgment of the health officer.
• Either 80% of the jurisdiction’s total population is fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson (booster doses not considered) or eight weeks have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by federal and state authorities for 5- to 11-year-olds

“The multilayered approach to reducing risk, including the indoor masking requirement and the ongoing progress of the vaccination campaign, has helped slow the transmission of COVID-19 in Napa County,” said Dr. Karen Relucio, Napa County’s public health officer. “Public health interventions add layers of protection against COVID-19 and save lives. Even if the indoor masking mandate is lifted, we still strongly recommend wearing masks in indoor settings.”

Willis, Marin County’s public health officer, said the goal in outlining specific criteria is to ensure each condition is met before safely lifting the restrictions.

“The mask requirement played an important role in gaining control of the fourth wave,” Willis said in a statement. “Still, our biggest asset is vaccinations. High vaccination rates will allow us to continue to ease restrictions safely, while protecting our whole community.”

Lifting a local indoor mask mandate would not prevent businesses, nonprofits, churches or others with public indoor spaces from imposing their own requirements, according to the news release.

In addition, the state’s health guidance for masking will remain in place after local masking requirements are lifted, meaning anyone who is not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 must continue to wear masks in businesses and indoor public spaces, the release stated.

“It is no accident that transmission is slowing in Sonoma County. Public health interventions, including the masking requirement, are working,” Dr. Sundari Mase, the county’s health officer, said in a statement to The Press Democrat on Thursday. “We believe that health orders, along with vaccination, outreach and education are all adding layers of protection against COVID-19 in our community — and saving lives.”

Lake County now upholds the mask mandate indoors for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people and has no plans in the near future of changing that requirement.

"At this point in time, our board is not considering looking at it right now. We're continue to monitor the case load. It depends on rate of new infections," Lake County Assistant County Administrative Officer Susan Parker said, referring to the county Board of Supervisors.

Solano County will not adopt the new guidelines.

"We're already where the Bay Area counties plan to go to," Solano County Public Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas told the Business Journal. "It's like the Bay Area counties put on a sweater and now have to figure out how to take it off."

Matyas insisted the metrics didn't back up the need for his county to mandate masks for vaccinated individuals. The health officer added he completely supports mandates requiring the unvaccinated to wear masks.

This story has been updated with new mandates from the Marin County public health department.

Susan Wood contributed to this report.