Most vaccinated Californians can ditch masks indoors soon as Gavin Newsom lifts omicron rules

Vaccinated Californians can ditch their masks indoors soon, the state’s Department of Public Health announced Monday as it lifts restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the omicron variant.

The state’s mask requirement for vaccinated people in most indoor settings will lift on Feb. 16. The requirement, which began in December as COVID-19 cases climbed, won’t be extended again because infection rates are dropping.

Unvaccinated people will still be required to wear masks in public indoor settings, as will people living in counties that still have more stringent requirements.

Sacramento County has its own mask mandate, but plans to follow the state’s lead in lifting it, county health office spokeswoman Janna Haynes said.

Masks also will still be required statewide on public transit, homeless shelters, long-term care facilities and health care settings.

The state’s additional testing requirements for people visiting nursing homes during the omicron surge will expire Monday at midnight.

School mask rules won’t change yet, but the administrative of Gov. Gavin Newsom administration is working on an update to those that the governor will announce soon, chief strategist Anthony York said.

“We’re looking at our school masking policy and continuing to work with education stakeholders to update our masking requirement and adapt to changing conditions,” York told The Sacramento Bee. “The governor is going to lay out a plan next week.”

The announcement came hours after the governor of New Jersey announced he is lifting mask requirements for schools in his state.

After a peak last month, coronavirus cases are dropping quickly in California. The state saw its all-time record in early January, when it averaged nearly 300 new cases per 100,000 residents per day. Since then, the rate has dropped closer to 100 new cases per day.

Despite an all-time spike in cases, the state’s death rate did not come close to the peak it hit last winter, when the state was recording more than 700 deaths per day. During the omicron spike, the state recorded about 140 deaths per day.

“Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving,” CDPH Director Dr. Tomás J. Aragón wrote in a statement. “With things moving in the right direction, we are making responsible modifications to COVID-19 prevention measures, while also continuing to develop a longer-term action plan for the state.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 3:17 PM.