Sonoma, Marin, other Bay Area counties recommend return to COVID-19 masking indoors for everyone

Sonoma and Marin have joined several other Bay Area counties in recommending a return to wearing masks indoors in response to a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The recommendation is for all residents, regardless of vaccination status.

The move comes a day after Los Angeles County once again mandated the use of masks indoors amid a similar rise in COVID-19 cases there. Bay Area jurisdictions now recommending the indoor use of a mask also include Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and the city of Berkeley.

Sonoma County health officials on Friday reported 71 positive cases in the past 24 hours, along with a daily transmission rate of 6.4 new cases per 100,000 residents. Officials also reported on Friday yet another COVID-19 death, the eighth thus far in just the first two weeks of July.

County officials said an unvaccinated man under the age of 50, with underlying health conditions, died in a local hospital on July 12. The death brings the total pandemic toll to 327.

Public health officials said increased circulation of the highly transmissible delta strain of the coronavirus, B.1.617.2 is likely behind the recent surge in cases, which has also lead to a significant spike in hospitalizations. Local officials said in June, the delta variant comprised 43% of all COVID-19 infections genetically sequenced by the state labs, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the mutation is now responsible for 58% of new infections nationwide.

Bay Area county health officials recommend everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places to “ensure easy verification that all unvaccinated people are masked in those settings and as an extra precautionary measure for all,” according to a county statement released Friday afternoon.

Such indoor settings include grocery or retail stores, theaters and family entertainment centers. Officials encouraged businesses to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering indoor areas of their businesses to provide better protection to their employees and customers.

“The delta variant is spreading quickly, and everyone should take action to protect themselves and others against this potentially deadly virus,” Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County health officer, said in a statement.

County officials said Bay Area health officers will revisit the masking recommendation in the coming weeks while continuing to monitor virus transmission rates, hospitalizations and deaths.

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