California orders statewide mask requirement starting Wednesday amid rising coronavirus cases
Dec. 13, 2021 Updated 11:11 PM PT
SAN FRANCISCO — Faced with rising coronavirus cases and growing concerns about the Omicron variant, California is ordering a statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces to go into effect on Wednesday.
The move comes as coronavirus case rates in California have risen by almost 50% in the last 2½ weeks, and COVID-19 hospitalizations are up by nearly 15%. County health officials across the state say they suspect they may be seeing the start of a winter jump in coronavirus cases.
The order will affect roughly half the state’s population, including San Diego and Orange counties, the Inland Empire, and swaths of the Central Valley and rural Northern California. The statewide indoor mask mandate order will last a month, expiring on Jan. 15.
“Omicron will almost certainly overtake Delta and cause new waves of infection globally,” Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director, tweeted. While there has been some optimism that Omicron may cause less severe illness, “this will take time to figure out,” Frieden wrote.
Ghaly acknowledged that there may be people across the state who will not comply with an indoor mask mandate.
“We hope that those are few and far between,” Ghaly said. “In some places, the enforcement is going to be stronger than others.”
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-13/california-orders-statewide-mask-order-starting-wednesday
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>Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director
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