Gavin Newsom considering statewide mask order for California, county officials say
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is considering a statewide order to require the use of masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to officials in several counties in contact with the state.
The discussions are occurring as many counties contemplate their own mask rules in response to spikes in coronavirus cases as businesses reopen.
The Democratic governor said at a Monday news conference that California’s hospitalizations, ICU admissions and positive test rates are stable. But the state is still closely monitoring counties whose numbers are more troubling than the statewide averages.
Dr. Penny Borenstein, public health director in San Luis Obispo County, said Newsom administration officials briefed county health directors Wednesday. She said a statewide mask order is “under consideration. I do not have details at this time.”
Sacramento County officials are considering changing the recommendation that customers wear masks inside stores and other businesses to a requirement, they told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday, the same day the county saw four new deaths and 67 new cases of COVID-19. Dr. Peter Beilenson, the county health services director, said he was aware of similar discussions at the state level.
Stanislaus County officials are also considering a mask order, Supervisor Kristin Olsen wrote in a Facebook post. The county had hoped to release details Wednesday, she wrote, but pushed back the announcement to Friday “to make sure our Order is consistent with any state requirements.”
Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, has been pushing for a statewide mask order, arguing it’s an issue that “shouldn’t be dependent on county choice.”
“It’s not like you have to cross a bridge to go from one county to the next,” he said. “There are some things that should be state standards and state mandates.”
Currently, mask requirements vary from county to county.
The Bay Area counties of San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Sonoma all require masks as part of a regional effort to fight the coronavirus. San Francisco’s order requires people to wear masks when riding transit, working at essential businesses, grocery shopping and other activities where they will be near other people, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Santa Clara County, meanwhile, only recommends that people wear masks.
Los Angeles and San Diego, the state’s largest counties, both require people to wear masks in public. Riverside and San Bernardino Counties created mask requirements, then walked them back, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Orange County downgraded its mask requirement to a recommendation after its public health officer Dr. Nichole Quick received threats for issuing the order and quit.
As of Tuesday, state officials reported that more than 157,000 Californians have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 5,200 have died.
Spokesmen for the governor did not respond to questions about a statewide mask order Wednesday.
At the press conference on Monday, Newsom recalled the second wave of the 1918 Spanish flu, which was more deadly than the first.
He said it is “incumbent upon us as individuals to be smart, to wear a face covering, to physically distance, to continue to wash your hands and continue to do things that are necessary to avoid that second wave.”
“It is one thing to be outside,” he said. “It’s another to be inside for an extended period of time without the ability to move around and move away from people.”
Reporters Kaytlyn Leslie, Dale Kasler, Ken Carlson, Erin Tracy and Hannah Wiley contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom considering statewide mask order for California, county officials say."