Vallejo becomes second Solano city to require face masks in indoor public spaces
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
City officials in Vallejo unanimous approved an indoor mask mandate for indoor businesses and other public spaces, becoming the second municipality in Solano County to do so.
The mandate requires face masks or other coverings to be worn in public spaces, except by individuals who are unable to wear one due to a legitimate medical reason.
Officials said the mask mandate was needed to thwart the effects of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and the so-called "Delta variant," which health experts say is more-infectious than the original Alpha strain discovered nearly two years ago.
Council members say they will review the mandate in six weeks time, or when Vallejo’s vaccination rate eclipses 85 percent of its population.
The mandate was apparently spurred by inaction at the county level to take the same initiative, despite nearby Bay Area counties doing so earlier in the month. For weeks, Solano County’s top health officer has resisted efforts to do the same, even as cases of infection requiring hospitalization have increased.
That inaction spurred city officials in Benicia to pass their own indoor mask mandate last week, with their counterparts in Vallejo following their lead Tuesday evening.
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