California’s indoor mask mandate has been extended one month, through at least Feb. 15, amid surging cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. M…
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California mask mandate extended through Feb. 15
CALIFORNIA
by:
Sareen Habeshian
Posted: Jan 5, 2022 / 02:28 PM PST / Updated: Jan 5, 2022 / 02:37 PM PST
Masked and unmasked people make their way through Grand Central Market in Los Angeles, California on June 29, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
California’s indoor mask mandate has been extended one month, through at least Feb. 15, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced in a briefing Wednesday.
The
mandate went into effect on Dec. 15, 2021, and was set to expire Jan. 15, 2022. It requires that masks be worn in all indoor public settings — regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.
While several counties have already imposed their own mask mandates after California’s “grand reopening” on June 15, 2021, about half of the state’s population live in counties that do not have their own masking requirements.
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Residents in Los Angeles and Ventura counties have gotten used to masking up indoors due to their county-enacted mandates. But others in counties like Orange and San Bernardino, the Inland Empire, the Central Valley and rural Northern California haven’t been required to wear masks indoors since the state dropped its previous mask mandate in the summer.
Before the statewide mandate went into effect last month, masking was a recommendation rather than a requirement, except in certain indoor spaces like public transit and schools.
Now, face coverings are required for everyone in all indoor public settings like gyms, malls, restaurants and stores.
Masking was already required for unvaccinated workers at high-risk congregate and other health care settings.