A statue of singer Tony Bennett is shown adorned with a facemask at San Francisco's historic Fairmont Hotel on April 23, 2020. Eight Bay Area counties announced loosened mask requirements Wednesday. File Photo by John G. Mabanglo/EPA-EFE
Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Eight of the San Francisco Bay Area's nine counties announced Wednesday they will follow a California state government decision dropping universal indoor mask mandates beginning next week.
Health officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties said in a joint announcement their rules requiring the wearing of masks at most indoor venues regardless of vaccination status will end Feb. 16 amid rapidly falling COVID-19 infection rates.
Their move mirrors guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health on Monday relaxing a similar measure covering parts of the state not included under separate local mandates.
"Starting February 16 in San Francisco, vaccinated people will no longer be required to wear masks in most indoor settings, including restaurants, bars, gyms, grocery stores, offices, museums, and other locations," Mayor London Breed tweeted. "The unvaccinated will still be required to wear masks indoors."
By aligning with the state masking rules, Bay Area county officials said they will no longer need to meet previously established criteria for lifting local masking orders, which were devised before the surge of the Omicron variant.
"Omicron was an immense stress test on our system, and although it presented many difficulties because of the sheer number of people who became infected, we made it through with schools and businesses open and without overwhelming our hospitals because we have built up strong defenses against the virus with our high vaccination and booster rates," San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said in a statement.
After reaching a high on Jan. 9 of 2,258 new cases per day, the city's caseload rapidly declined to a seven-day average of 552 on Feb. 1 and continues to drop, she said.
Hospitalizations have also begun to drop after never exceeding San Francisco's capacity, which Philip credited to the city's high vaccination rate of 84% and booster uptake rate of 64%.
California state authorities continue to require masks in school settings, but have recently indicated "adjustments" to the policy will be coming within weeks.
A universal masking requirement in Los Angeles County also remained in effect although the level of hospitalizations continued to drop Wednesday. With fewer than 2,600 COVID-19 patients under care, the county moved closer to the number set by health officials as necessary to trigger the end of the mandate.
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said last week she will consider the Omicron surge over when the county's hospitalizations fall below 2,500 for seven consecutive days, after which the mask requirements would be dropped for outdoor concerts and sports events, schools and child-care facilities.
