Alameda County Superior Court, along with seven other Bay Area counties, reinstated the mask mandate on June 16 due to the recent uptick in Covid-19 cases.
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, only 49.1% of Americans are fully vaccinated as of recent counts. As seen with the recent surges of Covid-19 cases as a result of the Delta variant, it is evident that not enough people in our communities are vaccinated.
The Delta variant is the most contagious strain of the coronavirus identified since the beginning of the pandemic. A CNN article had a simple solution to containing the Delta variant, “For anyone who loves freedom and hates mask mandates or remote learning, Dr. Jerome Adams has a blunt message: Get vaccinated.”
With the reality of not knowing the vaccination status of those around you, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at California State University, East Bay, Dr. Andrew Kelly, also had a simple solution, “if you can’t verify who has or has not been vaccinated, the safest policy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to require face-coverings indoors.”
The good news is that while we’re waiting for the majority of our communities to be fully vaccinated, we can each help contain the further spread of Covid-19 by wearing masks when in public. Although it is hard to estimate when wearing a mask in public will no longer be the norm, it is important to be aware of and follow your local county’s guidelines.
For those living in Alameda County, Alameda County Superior Court officials recently announced that they are reinstating a mandatory mask requirement for certain public spaces, regardless of vaccination status.
These specific public settings where a mask is required in Alameda County regardless of vaccination status include public transport, healthcare settings, state, and local correctional facilities/detention centers, indoors in any youth-serving facility (K-12, daycare, etc.), and county court/government facilities.
For unvaccinated Alameda County residents, you are required to wear a mask in any indoor public settings and business including movie theaters, restaurants, retail stores, etc.
Regardless of vaccination status, Alameda County residents are strongly recommended to wear a mask in any indoor public settings and businesses, especially if you’re unaware of the vaccination status of those around you. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
As a reminder to residents who are reluctant to continue wearing masks: unless your local county says otherwise; if businesses require masks for entry, it is within the businesses’ right to turn customers who refuse to wear a mask away.
A sentiment that most people will agree on is that they want to return to some normality. Although it is hard to estimate when that will be possible, the actions we can take in the meantime, like getting vaccinated and wearing masks in indoor-public settings, will help us transition to a new normal sooner.
Wearing a mask in this time of Covid-19 surges is crucial not only to protect ourselves but our communities as well. Dr. Kelly reiterates the importance of both getting vaccinated and following local mask guidelines, “We take on this slight inconvenience of wearing a mask in order to protect our families, friends, and our broader community, and we do this until we can get a larger portion of our population vaccinated.”
For Alameda County residents, the main takeaway from this recent announcement from the Alameda County Superior Court is to continue wearing masks until further notice, get vaccinated so as to prevent further spread of Covid-19, and stay educated on local guidelines at all times.
For more information about current mask guidelines in California, go here.