Eased Mask Guidelines From CDC Add Pressure on State to Lift Schools Mandate

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- New CDC recommendations on masking along with the state's much anticipated update Monday is putting the school mask mandate in the spotlight.

With New York's governor announcing that state will lift its school mask mandate, California and Hawaii are now the only states that have yet to announce a rollback for schools.

Children and parents of "Mask Choice" rallied at Golden Gate Park on Sunday, holding signs demanding the end of mask requirements in schools.

"It's seen as this force field. It's been given too much credit. It's time to get our kids back to normal," said Laura Fagan.

Millions of California students who have covered their faces for 8 hours a day and often many hours more during after-school activities, could soon have the option to shed their mandated face coverings.

"The California DPH has been the most conservative, the most restrictive of all the state departments of public health in the United States," said UCSF infectious diseases expert Dr. Monica Gandhi.

"I think we're all in pretty much agreement that it's appropriate to take masks off for a lot of people. It's really a question of is it now or will it be in a couple weeks?" said UC Berkeley infectious diseases expert Dr. John Swartzberg.

Under new CDC recommendations, the majority of school districts in California's 58 counties would be allowed to remove masks falling under "low or medium" levels of transmission.

Nearly every Bay Area county meets the criteria too, with the exception of Napa and Solano counties, which are still in the red.

"We are doing so much better than five and six weeks ago. The surge has dramatically come down," Swartzberg said.

In the latest UC Berkeley/IGS poll, 61 percent still support mask mandates in schools. Thirty-seven percent disapprove, with the remaining undecided.

"Of course we'd like to have the masks off with kids but it's not dangerous, having them on," Swartzberg said.

"The research has really shown us at this point that cloth face masks likely did not impact transmission or exposure to the child. It's the stronger N95s, KN95s, double masks that make a difference. Anyone can protect themselves by wearing those masks, including children and teachers in schools," Gandhi said.

Even if the state lifts the requirement, counties can choose to be more restrictive. Still it's a pivotal and symbolic moment in what continues to be one of the most contentious issues of the pandemic.