Mandate on masks remains for now
Marin falls short of goal; full lifting weeks away
It could be some time Marin County lifts its mask mandate in all settings.
Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s public health officer, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that while Marin is close to meeting the specification for ending the mandate, it appears likely it will fall just short of that goal.
Earlier this month, the county announced it was lifting mask restrictions in some indoor settings — including gyms, offices, carpool vehicles, religious gatherings and college classes — under certain conditions. No more than 100 people could be present; all had to be fully vaccinated; the host or employer had to be able to control access and maintain a list of the people present; and the setting could not be open to the general public.
The day before, Marin, seven other Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley announced requirements for a blanket lifting of their mask bans. To meet those requirements, a jurisdiction must reach the moderate COVID-19 transmission tier, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and remain there for at least three weeks. It also must have at least 80% of its population fully vaccinated against the virus, and hospitalizations must be low and stable.
Willis told supervisors Tuesday that 81% of Marin’s population is fully vaccinated and its new case rates are hovering around 18 per day.
“That places us in the moderate transmission tier under the CDC’s community transmission rate metric,” Willis said. “We are now about two weeks in the moderate transmission tier.”
It would appear then that Marin is on the brink
of shedding its masking requirement. Not so fast, Willis said.
“We’re right now at 125 cases over the past week,” he said. “We are close to coming back into that orange tier, or the substantial transmission tier.”
Willis said if that occurs, it will be at least another three weeks before Marin will be able to lift its mask mandate.
On a brighter note, Willis said just two people were hospitalized in Marin with COVID-19 on Tuesday, and neither was in intensive care.
“The last time we had rates this low was prior to the delta-fueled surge of July and August,” he said.
Willis said statistics on local COVID-19 cases show that Marin residents who are unvaccinated are 15 times more likely to be infected with the virus, 49 times more likely to be hospitalized and 30 times more likely to die.
“We are urging residents who are 65 and older to go and get the COVID-19 booster and a flu shot,” Willis said. “We now have about 27,000 residents who have obtained that third dose for a booster.”
People 18 and older are also eligible for booster shots if they have heightened risks from medical conditions or occupational exposures. Boosters are available regardless of whether the initial shots were Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Supervisor Damon Connolly asked when all Marin residents might be allowed to get boosters.
Willis said about 120,000 Marin residents, around half the county’s population, are eligible.
“It’s probably going to be a month or two down the road before the CDC says everyone is eligible,” he said.
Willis said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are considering whether to authorize the vaccination of children ages 5 to 11. He said a study of 2,300 youths found that the vaccine was 91% effective in preventing illness.
“We are expecting authorization on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6,” Willis said. He said a plan is in place to vaccinate 75% of county residents in that age group.
“That’s 15,000 out of our 20,000 residents aged 5 to 11 within one month,” Willis said.
Several vaccine critics made public comments following Willis’s presentation.
Sig-Britt Ivey of Tiburon said she was going to have to move out of California to keep her 12-year-old son safe.
“A lot of people don’t get the information because the media is totally censored,” Ivey said. “I know people like myself are being called conspiracists.”
Willis said, “As we come into this period where we will be offering vaccines for our 5- to 11-year-olds, it is important to remember that children do get very sick from COVID-19.”
Willis said nationwide nearly 25,000 children have been hospitalized from COVID-19 and 138 have died.