State edict mandates wearing of masks
Order follows largest oneday spike in cases
SACRAMENTO — Californians must immediately begin wearing masks outside the home when they cannot safely distance from other people to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state health officials ordered Thursday, a day after reporting the largest number of new cases in a single day.
The order issued by the California Department of Public Health outlines nearly a dozen situations in which cloth face coverings are required, including when a person is in an indoor public place or in line waiting to enter, riding public transportation, and working in many offices and other locations.
It also requires people to wear masks when they are outdoors in public spaces if they are
within 6 feet of others who are not members of their household.
The order puts California firmly on the promask side of what has become a national political battle in addition to a public health issue. Ten other states have mandated face coverings, including New York, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Mexico, according to the National Governors Association, but local orders in California and elsewhere have led to popular outcries. Some Republican lawmakers in Washington have been reluctant to wear masks during congressional hearings, and President Trump has yet to appear in public with a face covering.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that science has shown masks reduce the risk of coronavirus infection and that wearing them would be necessary to restart California’s economy safely and get people back to work.
“Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease,” Newsom said.
The order will not change life much for residents of the Bay Area, where most counties already have mask requirements. San Francisco has mandated that residents wear face coverings outside when they are within 30 feet of other people since the end of May.
But it is likely to cause significant controversy in other parts of the state, where residents have pushed back on local orders as unconstitutional and oppressive. The Orange County health officer resigned last week after receiving threats over her order for face coverings. County officials subsequently overturned the requirement.
Other large counties, including Riverside, San Bernardino and Fresno, have also reversed mask orders in the past month and a half, instead strongly recommending that residents wear face coverings.
Officials in Orange County said Thursday that they were reviewing the order, but several expressed frustration at the statewide mandate.
“The order came as a surprise when the governor had previously announced his support for local control when dealing with the virus,” Michelle Steel, chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement.
Supervisor Don Wagner said Orange County residents have acted responsibly, even as the scientific advice keeps changing.
“I still maintain a government that is closest to the people governs best, with the public wellserved when local control is maintained,” he said in a statement.
The new statewide requirement makes no mention of fines or other penalties for residents or businesses that defy the order. Kate Folmar, a spokeswoman for the California Health and Human Services Agency, said it is enforceable as a misdemeanor carrying potential financial penalties, if necessary, and that state agencies such as the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health could also take action.
“This is a statewide requirement and flows from the same legal authority as well other state orders,” Folmar said in a text message. “Californians have done incredible work following those orders — saving lives in the process. We expect that will continue to be the case.”
Research into the impact of face coverings on the spread of the coronavirus is ongoing, but recent studies suggest they are effective in slowing the infection rate. A study published this week in the journal Health Affairs estimated that more than a dozen states that required masks potentially averted between 230,000 and 450,000 cases by the end of
May.
John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley, said evidence indicates that the coronavirus is spread most commonly through droplets that infected people expel when they breathe, speak, yell or sing. Face coverings can help block those particles, he said, which is particularly important to prevent transmission by asymptomatic people who don’t know they are infected.
“Masking is probably the most important of all our interventions,” Swartzberg said. “If you’ve got it on, you’re not going to send a lot of small or large droplets that go out into the air. They’re going to hit the mask.”
California’s new guidelines also dictate that residents wear face coverings when obtaining health services, including at a hospital, pharmacy, laboratory, dental office or veterinary clinic. They can take the mask off when receiving treatments that require access to their face.
Masks are required at work if employees are interacting face to face with others; preparing food; riding in elevators or walking through common areas such as hallways and parking garages and lots; and operating public transit or ridesharing vehicles.
The order exempts children ages 2 and under, people with a physical or mental health condition that prevents wearing a face covering, and those communicating with someone who is deaf or hard of hearing.
Face coverings are also not required while seated at a restaurant or engaged in outdoor work or recreation, provided it is possible to keep at least at least 6 feet from others.
California county health departments reported 4,233 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, far eclipsing the previous singleday high of 3,683 set just last week. The rise comes as most areas of the state ease their lockdown measures, allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen, and as testing steadily increases.
Newsom defended the accelerated reopening at a news conference Monday, saying the state now had enough hospital capacity and personal protective equipment to manage the crisis.
“There’s a certain point where you have to recognize you can’t be in a permanent state where people are locked away for months and months and months on end, to see lives and livelihoods completely destroyed without considering the health impact of those decisions,” Newsom said.