Masks are no longer required in most indoor settings in Santa Clara County as of Wednesday, as the county transitions to a recommendation, according to the county’s Public Health chief.
Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody made the announcement Tuesday but clarified that her office still is recommending masks in certain indoor settings because there are people still at risk and because long COVID is a concern.
Last week, the county reached for the first time the metric of 550 or fewer cases per day for a full week. Before that, the county already had hit the targets for low and stable hospitalization numbers and an 80% or higher vaccination rate.
Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties were the last in the state to keep an indoor masking requirement. Los Angeles County’s mandate ended Friday.
Regardless of what counties do, the state will continue requiring masking in K-12 schools and child care facilities until March 12, on public transit, at health care settings, in shelters and in jails.
UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong has said people should keep a mask handy in case they find themselves in a risky situation.
“I think the risk is definitively still there,” he said. “We’re not quite where we were even Thanksgiving time and definitely not where we were at the time of first California reopening on June 15, 2021, which means that even though I’m a boosted person, I’m still going to be very careful in a crowded indoor setting and wear my mask.”
Source: NBC Bay Area
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