Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano and other Bay Area jurisdictions to lift mask rules for vaccinated groups

For information about how to schedule a vaccine in Sonoma County, go here.

To track coronavirus cases in Sonoma County, across California, the United States and around the world, go here.

For more stories about the coronavirus, go here.

Sonoma County will lift indoor masking restrictions for vaccinated groups in public spaces next week after the statewide universal mask mandate aimed at curbing spread of COVID-19 expires.

Officials announced Wednesday morning that the county is loosening masking rules on Feb. 16, in coordination with other Bay Area counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Solano. Berkeley and San Benito County are also lifting mask restrictions.

Local health officials said unvaccinated individuals over age 2 will continue to be required to wear masks in all indoor public spaces. Businesses, venue operators and hosts may choose to continue requiring masking in public spaces, officials said.

The change aligns with the California Department of Public Health’s decision to let expire the statewide indoor mask requirement, which was put in place on Dec. 15 as transmission rates were beginning to climb.

Officials said the state still requires indoor masking for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, in public transportation; health care settings; congregate settings like correctional facilities and homeless shelters; long-term care facilities; and in K-12 schools and child care settings.

“We have weathered the worst of the omicron surge. But let’s make no mistake: the pandemic is not over,” Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County’s health officer, said in a statement Wednesday. “COVID-19 is still spreading twice as fast in our community today as it was during the peak of the delta surge last August.”

Mase strongly recommended people who are at risk of severe COVID-19 illness, including seniors, essential workers and people with underlying health conditions and the people who care for them, to continue to wear their masks indoors in public settings.

She said that masking for vaccinated individuals remains a “smart and simple way to protect yourself and the people around you.”

Officials said that after reaching a high on Jan. 10 of 248.7 cases per day per 100,000 residents, Sonoma County’s transmission rates have declined to 77.0 cases as of Wednesday. Hospitalizations have also declined.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.

For information about how to schedule a vaccine in Sonoma County, go here.

To track coronavirus cases in Sonoma County, across California, the United States and around the world, go here.

For more stories about the coronavirus, go here.

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