SACRAMENTO, California – California is returning to the statewide indoor mask-wearing mandate.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration announced the new mandate will begin Wednesday and run until January 15. The order comes as the per capita rate of new coronavirus infections in California has increased. 47% in the past two weeks.
“We know people are tired and longing for normalcy. Honestly, so am I,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Monday. “That said, this is a pivotal moment where we have a tool that we know works and can work.”
California lifted the statewide mask-wearing requirement on June 15 for those who have been immunized, a date Newsom heralded as the state’s reopening date. But since then, county governments comprising about half of the state’s population have imposed their own indoor mask regulations as case rates rise with new variations.
The state’s new masking mandate will include everyone else, but state officials on Monday were unclear if it would be enforced. Ghaly said enforcement will likely be stronger in some places than others, but he urged Californians to heed warnings and wear masks.
“We knew these were going to be people who wouldn’t necessarily agree with this, people who were tired, who wouldn’t be wearing masks,” Ghaly said. “We hope those are few and far between, most people see the purpose of this next month as something to protect them and their communities during very difficult times.”
California is also tightening current testing requirements by ordering unvaccinated people attending indoor events of 1,000 or more people to test negative within a day or two, depending on test type. The state also recommends that travelers visiting or returning to California get tested within five days of their arrival.
