Alameda County health officials on Thursday announced that residents are allowed to take off their protective masks against COVID-19, and not just the spooky ones they used for Halloween.
The decreasing record of virus cases and hospitalization tally led the county residents to lower their masks when inside close settings and with fully vaccinated people, KRON4 reported.
Allowed places are those controlled and do not allow free flow of the public like offices, employee commuter service, sports centers, religious places like churches where people congregate regularly.
“Allowing vaccinated people to remove their masks in these limited, controlled settings carries lower risk,” Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County Health Officer, said in a statement. “If vaccinated people choose to continue wearing masks, they should feel comfortable doing so.”
The county allows not over 100 people to come together without masks, and all are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. The host group, like in business or church, is also required to assure that all attendees got complete COVID-19 vaccine doses.
People attending such gatherings shall present their vaccination documentation through a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-issued card, or a card from a foreign government provided that it states the vaccine recipient’s name, type of vaccine administered, as well as the dates when the dose was provided.
A photo or a copy of the vaccination card can also pass as proof, whether it is saved on an electronic device or hard-printed. Also accepted is a health care provider’s documentation, or a personal vaccine record from California or another state, as well as local or foreign government.
Events hosts are also required to verify the identity of the attendees through an ID photo issued by the government.
Public settings including dining establishments, bars, retail stores and K-12 stores, meanwhile, will still be under the mask requirement. All people who have not yet got their vaccines are also required by the state to use masks when inside indoor places. The mask requirement also stays in adult and senior health facilities, health care facilities, and on public transportation.
Apart from Alameda County, the city of Berkeley also announced the same relaxed mask mandate on Monday. Recently, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco have implemented the same ways of easing mask mandates.
