Alameda County, Berkeley Health Officials To Align With State On Ending School Mask Mandate - 'This Is The Right Time'
ALAMEDA COUNTY (CBS SF) – Health officials in Alameda County and the city of Berkeley announced Thursday that they will align with state guidance dropping the mask requirement inside schools later this month.
"Cases are declining to near pre-surge levels everywhere, and this is the right time to move face masking guidance from requirement to recommendation in most settings," said Alameda County health director Dr. Nicholas Moss.
Earlier this week, state health officials announced that face coverings inside schools would no longer be required, but "strongly recommended" after March 11, regardless of vaccination status. Neighboring Oregon, along with the state of Washington, also announced that their school mask mandates would end on that date.
According to Moss, cases have dropped significantly since the peak of the omicron surge in January and hospitalizations are also down.
Health officials stressed that masks continue to be "strongly recommended" in most indoor public settings. Masks remain required in healthcare settings, public transit and congregate settings such as correctional facilities and shelters. People who were infected with COVID-19 are still required to mask in public for 10 days after infection, along with those knowingly exposed to the virus.
Moss acknowledged that while some in the community will welcome the new guidance, others have expressed their fears of dropping the mask mandate. Health officials strongly urge parents, guardians and schools to talk with students in the coming days about respecting the decisions other students and families will make about masking.
While the state's guidance has changed, counties and individual school districts continue to have the right to implement stricter requirements. Across the bay, the San Francisco Unified School District announced that they would continue to require masks indoors despite the city's Department of Public health saying they would align with the state's new rules.