COVID: Marin County To Ease Indoor Mask Mandate In Some Settings With 100% Vaccination
MARIN COUNTY (CBS SF) – Health officials in Marin County announced Friday that it plans to ease the county's indoor mask mandate in certain settings where all people present can prove they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The revised mandate, which goes into effect on October 15, would exempt the mask requirement in what officials described as "select" settings with 100% vaccination. All of the following requirements must be followed:
- The host, employer or organizer has verified all individuals are fully vaccinated.
- No more than 100 people are present.
- The setting is not open to the general public.
- A list of all individuals present is maintained.
Officials said indoor settings that could be covered by the revised mask mandate include gyms and fitness centers, offices, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings and college classes.
Marin County health officer Dr. Matt Willis said the county is not ready to lift the indoor mask mandate entirely but said "we're in a good place to ease restrictions for the safest settings."
"Science shows that when an entire group is vaccinated, the risk of infection is much lower. Some settings have already adopted mandatory vaccination policies for all staff and customers, and this gives more incentive for others to follow suit," Willis went on to say.
Marin County's easing of mask rules comes as San Francisco announced they would also lift their indoor mask mandate in some settings with all fully vaccinated individuals present, starting October 15.
On Thursday, health officials throughout the Bay Area announced a consensus on criteria needed to lift the indoor mask mandate entirely. Under the agreement, counties must be in the CDC's moderate COVID-19 transmission tier for at least three weeks, hospitalizations must be low and stable, along with 80% of the population must be fully vaccinated.
Marin officials said the county has satisfied two out of the three criteria so far and hopes to make progress on the final metric "in the coming weeks."
Even when the criteria is reached, masks would still be required in settings covered by state and federal mandates, such as health care facilities and on public transit. K-12 schools would still be required to follow the state's guidelines.
