As the fall season brings with it the start of respiratory illness season, mask mandates are coming back for healthcare facilities across the Bay Area.
Mask mandates in healthcare settings returned Nov. 1 – some just for healthcare personnel and others for patients and visitors as well – in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties.
The mandates are aimed at helping to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses such as influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, which can be particularly harmful for some groups of people.
Though masks are only mandatory in healthcare settings, Kismet Baldwin-Santana, the health officer for San Mateo County, said that people will have to decide whether its a step they want to take in other settings to protect themselves, their family and their friends as respiratory illnesses increase in frequency.
“I do recommend that if youre going into the doctors office, if youre going in to visit somebody at a hospital or if youre taking care of someone who is sick, then I would suggest that you wear a mask,” she said.
Baldwin-Santana described taking multiple precautions as a “swiss cheese effect” – trying “a lot of different interventions” so that, even if they don’t each work perfectly, “hopefully by the time you get to the end, youve prevented someone from getting sick.”
These precautions can include covering your mouth, washing hands, getting vaccinated and staying home when ill if possible, she said. She also recommended wearing a mask while inside or staying in well-ventilated areas.
“When you layer them all up, … youre in the best place to stay healthy,” Baldwin-Santana said.
Baldwin-Santana also said that there have been “bumps in the winter time” of COVID, but that researchers are not yet sure how often COVID infections will increase in prevalence each year. Numbers also rise in the summertime, she said.
“COVID is here to stay. We dont expect it to go away anytime soon,” she said. “[People] shouldnt forget about COVID by any means. Its just that theres other viruses circulating in the community at the same time in the winter season.”
All of the health orders will be in effect from Nov. 1 to March 31.
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County is requiring masks for all people in the patient care areas of healthcare facilities, according to the health order.
The act is aimed at decreasing the risk of illness for vulnerable populations and preventing the healthcare system from being overwhelmed.
The order does not apply to children under the age of two, people with health conditions or disabilities that prevent mask wearing, hearing-impaired individuals and people who work in certain roles in which mask wearing would pose a risk.
San Mateo County
In San Mateo County, the mask mandate only applies to healthcare workers and visitors in the patient care areas of skilled nursing facilities, according to the order.
The health order does not apply to patients. There is also an exception for those who have medical conditions or disabilities that prevent mask-wearing.
“The residents of facilities are a really high risk population for severe illness if they do get something like flu, COVID, RSV, some of the viruses that are circulating during the respiratory virus season, and we have had outbreaks in some of our skilled nursing facilities with hospitalizations and deaths,” said Baldwin-Santana. “We really want to protect them as best we can during this season.”
Alameda County
The health officers of Alameda County and the city of Berkeley jointly issued a health order that will require staff members at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities and dialysis and infusion clinics to wear masks to prevent the spread of influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, according to the health order.
The order does not require mask-wearing for anyone beyond staff, but masks are strongly recommended for anyone in a health care setting.
Contra Costa County
In Contra Costa County, the health order requires that all personnel in healthcare facilities wear masks when in an enclosed space with patients present or when providing direct care to a patient, according to the order.
The order also has exceptions for those with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent mask-wearing, those communicating with the hearing impaired and those who would be put at risk by wearing a mask due to the nature of their work.