California will restore an indoor mask mandate this week in the wake of a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, one of the state's top health officials said Monday.
State Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said the state will reimplement an indoor mask requirement, regardless of vaccination status, from Wednesday to Jan. 15.
The state will also tighten the window in which people who are not fully vaccinated can show a negative COVID-19 test result if they want to attend an event with more than 1,000 attendees
Negative rapid antigen tests must be taken within 24 hours of the event while PCR tests must be taken within 48 hours of the event. Previously, a negative test of any kind had to be taken within 72 hours of a large event.
Ghaly said that the recent rise of the omicron variant of the virus and a 47 percent increase in cases statewide since Thanksgiving has led to concern over a possible surge in cases similar to last winter's surge, when nearly 20,000 state residents died from COVID between the end of December and February.
"We know that we are entering into a pretty hard time and we are starting to see some of these numbers go up in some communities pretty quickly," Ghaly said.
The mask mandate will run through Jan. 15 and is specific to public settings, not private gatherings. Nevertheless, health officials recommend people get tested ahead of holiday gatherings and consider better ventilation by opening windows or convening outdoors when possible.
The mandate will mainly affect about 50% of the state population that lives in counties that currently don't have their own mask mandate, Ghaly said. Los Angeles and several Bay Area counties already have mask mandates for public settings in place.
Along with renewed mask rules, the state will also require that attendees at mega events those of 1,000 people or more who are unvaccinated show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within one day, if an antigen test, or two days for PCR tests. The state is also recommending that travelers get tested before and after trips.
The first statewide mandate was imposed in 2020 and lifted last June.
After the state's June 15 reopening, vaccinated people were allowed to return to grocery stores, retail and other public settings without a mask at least under state rules. People who were not vaccinated still had to adhere to indoor masking. Telling the difference, however, was tricky: Ghaly acknowledged Monday that throughout the pandemic enforcement of these rules has been a challenge.
Ghaly said state officials are not considering any further restrictions or capacity limits on businesses at this time. "Is this the first step along the course we're familiar withincluding closures? Absolutely not."
That's because, he said, despite concerns of the new omicron variant and rising case rates, the state has effective tools at hand: vaccines and masks.
To date, 74,685 Californians have died from COVID-19.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
