In the deep blue heart of California’s San Francisco Bay Area, mask mandates are being reinstated for a limited time during cold and flu season.
With winter approaching, several Bay Area counties recently issued health orders mandating the wearing of face makeup in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other health care settings, starting Nov. 1, 2025. It has been extended until April 31st or April 30th. The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The new mandate was put in place to prevent the spread of influenza, coronavirus, and other seasonal diseases. The requirement applies only to health care workers, except in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, where visitors are also required to wear masks. The city of Santa Clara is also requiring patients to wear masks, the paper said.
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People shop at a grocery store that requires masks in Los Angeles on July 23, 2021. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)
Areas that have issued health orders include Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Napa counties.
Health care facilities that must comply with the order include hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, dialysis centers and infusion centers.
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(Certain counties in the San Francisco Bay Area have limited mask mandates during cold and flu season.)
Santa Clara County exempts children under the age of 2 and anyone with a medical condition where wearing a mask may impede breathing, or anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a mask without assistance. do.
While far less restrictive than pandemic-era COVID-19 mandates, the mask mandate still drew opposition from critics.
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Visitors enjoy exhibits at the California Academy of Sciences on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Nina Riggio/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
“Mask mandates are coming back in California,” said California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley, who is facing a challenge from Democratic Rep. Jessica Morse. “My opponent, the Newsom staff, supports wearing masks for young children. Xavier Becerra, America’s leading authority on wearing masks for 2-year-olds, is planning a run for governor. We must elect the right people to prevent history from repeating itself.”
The mask order is similar to health orders issued during last year’s cold and flu season.
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In January, several public hospitals in New York City joined state health facilities across the country in implementing mask mandates in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases and influenza infections. was revived.
The mandate was lifted once flu season ended.
