Despite CDC guidance, Solano health officer resists mask mandate
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
The top health official in Solano County is refusing to implement an indoor mask mandate for businesses and other public spaces, despite guidance from the Centers for Disease Control that encourages such a policy.
In an interview with the Daily Republic newspaper on Tuesday, Solano County Public Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas stood firm in his belief that an indoor mask policy was not warranted, noting that similar mask mandates in other parts of Northern California appeared to be a case of public opinion taking precedent over scientific fact.
At one point in the interview, Dr. Matyas questioned why the rate of infection in counties that had implemented an indoor mask policy had not improved since those policies were put in place.
Those areas, including Contra Costa County and Yolo County, have had their mandates in place for just a few weeks, and local and state health data can be delayed for an equal amount of time.
Local health officials outside of Solano County began implementing indoor mask mandates on their own after noting a sharp increase in novel coronavirus infection largely brought on by the so-called “Delta variant,” which health experts say can be twice as infectious as the original COVID-19 virus discovered nearly two years ago.
Solano County has experienced the same increase in infection since state health officials eased restrictions on residents and businesses in mid-June. As of Monday, more than 100 individuals were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Solano County, and the rate of available intensive care unit bed space across all hospitals in the local region was just over 30 percent.
Those figures would put Solano County back in the most-restrictive “purple” tier if state health officials were still using the color-coded system. The state ended its use of that system in mid-June after seeing a drop in infection and a rise in vaccination.
When it comes to vaccinations distributed, Solano County lags behind other areas, with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the San Francisco Bay Area as of late July.
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control issued new public guidance that urged all Americans to wear masks when in public indoor settings, regardless of their vaccination status, in areas with a “substantial” or “high” degree of COVID-19 transmission. Data released by state and federal health officials showed Solano County is considered a region with a “high” degree of transmission.
In numerous interviews, Dr. Matyas has resisted calls for an indoor mask mandate for Solano County, claiming residents are more prone to be infected with COVID-19 at private social gatherings, and not in indoor public settings.
It is not clear how Dr. Matyas or Solano County officials came to that conclusion. Officials do not ask individuals receiving COVID-19 tests at county-run locations if they suspected an infection was brought on by a public or private gathering.
On Tuesday, Dr. Matyas told the Daily Republic that implementing a county-wide mask mandate would create a burden for business owners that was “unfair given that the science does not support the policy,” the newspaper reported.
County health officials continue to say vaccinations are the best line of defense against the virus.
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