California Extends Indoor Mask Mandate
This afternoon, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced the extension of California’s indoor mask mandate, now scheduled through at least February 15. The mandate, which was originally scheduled to expire on January 15, comes as a response to the state’s steep increase in reported COVID-19 cases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH):
“Over the last two weeks, the statewide seven-day average case rate has increased by more than sixfold and hospitalizations have doubled. While the percentage of Californians fully vaccinated and boosted continues to increase, we continue to have areas of the state where vaccine coverage is low, putting individuals and communities at greater risk for COVID-19.”