Gov. Gavin Newsom at 12/22/21 press conference. (Photo: gov.ca.gov)
Newsom Administration Announces End of Statewide Mask Mandate on February 15th
Residents ‘are just tired of mask mandate after two years’
By Evan Symon, February 8, 2022 2:22 am
Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the current state indoor mask mandate will not be renewed due to a large drop in COVID-19 cases, with the current mandate set to end on February 15th.
In mid-December of 2021, Governor Newsom reimposed an indoor mask mandate similar to the one that had been in effect in California since COVID-19 started in 2020 until earlier in 2021. While largely protested, Newsom and state health officials said that the return of the mandate was because of safety concerns and to stop the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus. The number of cases spiked last month, but have since gone drastically down. On Monday, only 43,532 new cases were reported, a two month low, with hospitalizations falling by 65% from last month.
With the drastic drop, Governor Newsom decided to not renew the order on Monday, but warned that unvaccinated people will still need to wear their masks indoors.
“NEW: CA’s case rate has decreased by 65% since our Omicron peak,” the Governor tweeted on Monday. “Our hospitalizations have stabilized across the state. Our statewide indoor mask requirement will expire on 2/15. Unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors. Get vaccinated. Get boosted.”
NEW: CA’s case rate has decreased by 65% since our Omicron peak. Our hospitalizations have stabilized across the state.
Our statewide indoor mask requirement will expire on 2/15.
Unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors.
Get vaccinated. Get boosted.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 7, 2022
Despite the state mandate being dropped, some county and city health agencies, which can impose their own mandates, are to keep their indoor mandates in place past the February 15th date. Los Angeles County, as well as several Bay Area Counties, currently have no estimated end date due to persistent high COVID rates and high risk. However those without such local mandates, such as San Diego County, Orange County, and most other counties in the state, indoor mask wearing will no longer be around.
There are certain restrictions though. The removal of the mandate only allows those vaccinated to not wear masks, with all others indoors having to wear them. In many places, such as restaurants, checking for vaccination status will still be in place as a result. Certain locations for high risk, such as public transportation, nursing homes, and some high-traffic businesses, will still have mandatory mask wearing. Indoor and outdoor mega-events will also keep in-place similar rules with masking, COVID test proof and vaccination proof, but will double the amount allowed until those mandates come into place, with 1,000 now in place for large indoor events and 10,000 allowed for large outdoor events.
Public school mask mandates being updated soon
While schools K-12 will also keep a mandate in place for now, health officials announced that new school masking requirements would be released soon, potentially removing the mandate there as well.
“Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving,” said California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Tomas Aragon on Monday “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.”
The decision has spurred many local groups where mandates will still be in effect after February 15th to doubling their efforts on Monday to remove them.
“Omicron is quickly vanishing. Really, all of COVID is quickly going,” noted Rodrigo Ortega, a Los Angeles-based mask and PPE supplier to the Globe on Monday. “Every place I go has been ordering less and less and everyone wants this all to be over. The mask mandate is a big part of that, as residents here are just tired of it after two years. State mandate is going, and people I’ve been talking to against the mandate here are just going to hound officials more now. The pressure is on to remove them.”
The state indoor mask mandate is to end on February 15th, following the February 13, 2022 Super Bowl LVI at SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, where 100,000 attendees will be required to wear KN95 masks.
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Too Early not really safe yet !!! Wait till no more patients in the hospital is better!!!
Mario, there are always going to be cases similar to the flu. If you got the shot then you should be safe right? Otherwise whats in it and what was the point of taking it?
They are caving and covering their rear ends because they don’t want to be last on the train leaving the station. The real science is overtaking the pseudo science on masks and lock downs despite the mainstream media propaganda. The next to be vindicated will be people like our former Kaiser employee and all the others who were fired for not capitulating to the vaccine mandates.
He is still choking LA, and still trying to divide the population.
Gov. Newsom has decreed that unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors? We know several people who have worn masks, have been vaccinated and boosted, but they still came down with COVID. It’s time for Gov. Newsom and his Democrat cronies to stop with this ridiculous farce?
Honestly, just stop wearing them.
YUP. That’s the ticket, all right.
Comrades
The State is grasping for a unifying message, but Globalists diversity ho hum, culture taboos, nativists and morons not having it…this is the future of governess in California….
The narrative can’t compete with ‘real Science’, experts with integrity, and prosecutions are in the offing…
Common Law Court at the Hague has begun (Nuremberg 2.0), tune in to Reiner Fuellmich…
‘Pre-meditated Mass Murder’ charges being presented… Schwab, Fauci, Gates, Tedros, etc.
Sonoma County Sheriff (per Michelle Ford, Dr. Christiane Northrup) evidence being gathered to level charges
in California for vaccine and hospital deaths, adverse reactions, testing scam, unconstitutional mandates.
Masks, especially for children, are criminal… Why wait til after Super Bowl, the biggest human/child trafficking
event of the year? Predators put tape over the mouth, and the mask conceals the crime.
Newsom, F-off. We are all tired of your lies and corruption. No masks; No exceptions!
Never was a MANDATE. Even Newsom, himself, does not call it a mandate but rather a REQUIREMENT that was issued by a State Agency “unelected employee.” He issued no order, nor did he sign any document.
We stopped wearing them last summer, and never started back when the mandate was reimposed a few months ago. Alhough stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and others had signs on their doors saying you have to wear one, we entered without and was not confronted at all, not even once. Also, we spoke to many employees during this time, not one of them said “why aren’t you wearing a mask?” So, for all intents and purposes, the mandate hasn’t been enforced since it was reimposed, at least not here in San Bernardino County. Now, with it going away “officially” we’ll throw away our masks (should burn the damn things!). BTW, we aren’t “vaccinated” either, but they have no way of knowing that and can’t ask. So toss your masks and forget about this nonsense and live your life today! Don’t wait until the 15th of the month, do it today!
What you describe has been my experience also. Sometimes staff, even though masked, have seemed to be extra-friendly and accommodating toward me than before, a reaction I definitely wasn’t expecting. No problems from other shoppers, even though they are typically ALL masked. Would add that we should strive be good “mask-less ambassadors” during this time. That is, be friendly and polite to others.
SCIENCE! 😉
I’m in the SF Bay Area. They will probably keep us all muzzled for as long as they can, as well as the vaxx passports, which are in place in almost every county. I feel more like a prisoner here than a citizen.
At least the virus had a good upbringing and is polite. How many other viruses would not attack and allow us to take our masks off while we are seated and eating in resturantes? Of course its open season on us when we walk in and out of the place without masks on. I’m obviously being sarcastic but does the policy for wearing masks while dinning indoors seem like it’s based on science? The truth is these people think we are so stupid. And many of us are. Not only do they think your stupid. They keep getting caught out in public and its funny to them. The mayor of Los Angeles actually said he held his breath when he took the maskless photo with Magic Johnson during the NFC championship game. Not only do they think we are stupid, they flat out hate us. So much so they do not want to see our faces. This whole thing needs to end. All of it. This is not about our health and its illegal. Anything less then what are lives were like pre covid is unacceptable. That includes the digital vaccine passport. People we cannot allow this. Can you not see how urgent this is?!
This is all about the Great Reset and we know who these people are and what their real intentions are. We just need to get more people to wake up and unite together against them to save our Democratic Republic and western society from this plandemic global tyranny. The thousands of jab victims will not let us forget. Vote out everyone of these pro-totalitarian tyrants.