Yolo County moves back to indoor masks. Could Solano be next?
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
Yolo County will require businesses to enforce an indoor mask policy as the rate of COVID-19 infections continues to increase in that region and throughout California.
The move was announced Tuesday at the Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting by Dr. Aimee Sisson, the county’s top health official.
“The mask mandate is the least disruptive and the masking mandate has no [economic] effect on the local economy and will allow businesses to stay open,” Dr. Sisson told supervisors at the meeting on Tuesday.
The order will take effect this Friday, July 30.
Business owners in Yolo County appeared to shrug off the mask mandate, with some telling ABC affiliate KXTV (Channel 10) that wearing a mask indoors was better than getting infected.
“You do not want to get COVID,” salon owner Jerry Paiz told the TV station, adding that he was hospitalized with the virus and “almost died.”
The order in Yolo County came on the same day the federal Centers for Disease Control issued new guidance urging all Americans to wear masks in indoor public settings, even if they’re considered to be fully vaccinated.
The various vaccines developed to combat COVID-19 help prevent the worst side effects, but none prevent a viral infection.
Like the rest of the region, the rate of infection and hospitalization has increased in Solano County, with health officials reporting 45 new infections and eight hospitalizations.
So far, health officials in Solano County have resisted an indoor mask mandate for businesses, despite nearby counties implementing such a measure. State officials have likewise hesitated to issue new mandates after scrapping the color-coded restriction tier in mid-June.
Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom said new restrictions would not be necessary if residents continued to get vaccinated.
As of last week, more than 49 million vaccine doses had been administered in California, including more than 461,000 in Solano County, according to state health data.
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