LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With COVID-19 cases rising across California, state health officials have issued new guidelines for masking.
On Wednesday, State Public Health Officer Tomás Aragón, MD, DrPH, and the California Department of Public Health, or CDPH, updated statewide face covering guidance.
“The Delta variant has caused a sharp increase in hospitalizations and case rates across the state. We are recommending masking in indoor public places to slow the spread while we continue efforts to get more Californians vaccinated,” said Aragón.
This update came in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Tuesday changes to its “Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People,” made in light of new evidence regarding the Delta Variant (B.1.617.2).
The CDC is now recommending all individuals in areas of “substantial or high transmission” wear a face covering in “public indoor settings.”
Under the CDC’s new guidance, more than 90% of California’s population is currently in areas designated as substantial or high transmission, CDPH reported.
Lake County, with the highest case rate in the state of California, is clearly in the “high transmission” category, confirmed by this CDC tracking tool.
CDPH has extended the recommendation to mask indoors to all Californians, regardless of vaccination status, “To achieve universal masking in indoor public settings.”
According to the CDC, getting vaccinated helps protect from the virus and the circulating variants, including the Delta variant that is now seen in the majority of California’s new cases.
California continues to work to increase vaccination rates across the state. This week, California took the nation-leading step of requiring state and health care employees to provide proof of vaccination or submit to regular testing.
California had also led with its K-12 school guidance, requiring universal masking and other prevention measures as schools fully open for the upcoming school year.
CDPH is continuing to motivate businesses and local communities to encourage vaccination to prevent new outbreaks in areas of substantial and high transmission.
Last week, the Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution urging the public to continue to wear masks in indoor public settings in Lake County.
The CDC, CDPH and Lake County Board of Supervisors all stopped short of mandating masking for vaccinated individuals, except in limited circumstances — e.g.: public transit; indoor K-12 schools and other child care settings; emergency shelters and formal cooling centers; all health care settings; correctional, detention and other congregate settings.
However, Lake County’s case rate continues to trend upward. On Wednesday, it was 52 cases per 100,000 (when removing the seven-day delay employed by state reporting).
The Delta variant is known to be present in Lake County, and reportedly carries 1,000 times the viral load of the “mother virus,” and has been described by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky as “hyper-transmissible,” and “one of the most infectious respiratory viruses we know of and that I have seen in my 20-year career.”
Hospitalizations and case rates are increasing across the state. Lake County has been more affected than most localities.
Community members are urged to do their part to protect immunocompromised individuals, for example, who “might be at increased risk for severe COVID,” even if they are vaccinated.
Health officials said Increasing the vaccination percentage is Lake County’s best known defense against COVID, and the proliferation of variants that pose threats previously unseen for generations. Some new options for vaccination are described here.
The county of Lake is asking residents to wear masks, wash their hands and maintain physical distancing.
“Do these things not merely out of obligation, but because we are a close-knit County that cares about helping each other out,” county health officials said in a Wednesday statement. “Your personally choosing to tolerate minor inconveniences now may make all the difference for someone you know and love.”