As concerts loom and COVID cases rise, will Fresno issue a universal mask mandate?
At least two dozen concerts, events and shows with the potential to attract thousands of patrons are scheduled at three major Fresno indoor venues over the coming months.
Many of the events scheduled at the Save Mart Center on the Fresno State campus and Selland Arena in downtown Fresno will be considered indoor “mega events” with more than 5,000 people in attendance, triggering a state requirement for customers to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have a negative coronavirus test before they can attend.
The Save Mart Center at Fresno State has a capacity of up to 18,000, while Selland Arena at the Fresno Convention Center can seat about 9,200 in its stands and on the arena floor. Also at the Convention Center, the Saroyan Theatre’s seating capacity is listed at 2,351.
Under the state’s current rules, however, venues can opt to allow patrons to “self attest” that they’ve been vaccinated or have a negative test – something of an honor system for those attending when they buy their ticket or register to attend, rather than providing proof or documentation of their testing or vaccination status.
The requirements are designed to keep such gatherings from becoming “super-spreader” events at which the coronavirus could be transmitted from person to person in an audience of fans who are not required to wear face coverings as a layer of protection.
As COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surge in Fresno County – more than 1,300 cases over the past seven days through Tuesday, and more than 160 patients being treated in hospitals – and across California, a growing number of counties covering more than half of the state’s population have issued orders requiring universal indoor masking for people in public regardless of vaccination status.
Neighboring Mono County, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range, issued its health officer order for universal masking on Tuesday morning. The order takes effect on Friday.
Whether Fresno County will join that trend is uncertain. More than half of the county’s residents, including more than 190,000 children under the age of 12 who aren’t eligible for the shots, have yet to receive even one dose of the available COVID-19 vaccines.
Universal masking on its way?
More than a year ago, in May 2020, the county health department issued an order that all residents “shall” wear face masks while in indoor public settings. That was quickly amended to state that residents “should” wear masks – a seemingly small difference, but one that changed the nature of the guidance from a requirement to a recommendation.
Officials with the Fresno County Department of Public Health declined to address whether they are now considering issuing a universal indoor masking order for residents. A spokesperson provided a statement by email that the agency “is working with all our partners to look for ways to increase masking as a way to ‘flatten the curve with this surge, which is definitely taking advantage of non-masked individuals to spread.’”
Dr. John Zweifler, a public health physician with the county health department, said Tuesday that health leaders are “very concerned about the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, particularly among younger individuals and those who are unvaccinated.”
The upshot is that as of this week, the county is sticking with its most recent official position, in alignment with California Department of Public Health guidance, that “masking is required for everyone while indoors if they are not fully vaccinated,” but adding that masking “is strongly recommended for all others.”
“Fully vaccinated people may go unmasked in most settings (except public transportation and places like hospitals and shelters),” the county guidance adds.
Because of “breakthrough infections” that have been reported among people who have already received their coronavirus shots, Zweifler said that concern extends to everyone because “risk factors for contracting COVID-19 remain for being in crowded spaces, indoors, when others are unvaccinated and/or unmasked.”
Such breakthrough infections for vaccinated people, he added, “are milder, and those who are unvaccinated are far more likely to be hospitalized.”
What’s that mean for events?
County health representatives did not answer questions from The Bee regarding concerns over indoor mega events of 5,000 or more people at indoor venues like Selland Arena or the Save Mart Center.
But Dr. Rais Vohra, the county’s interim health officer, has said several times in recent weeks that he hopes everyone will wear a mask indoors, especially as the number of cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus grows rapidly in the region.
“More and more counties, more and more organizations are really asking people to get those masks put back on,” Vohra said in a July 22 briefing. “You want to try to encourage masking just as a way to protect everyone else in light of the fact that we’re seeing some breakthrough infections.”
“Universal masking seems to make sense, especially in higher-risk settings, if you’re going to be around a number of unvaccinated individuals, if you’re going to be around a bunch of strangers and it’s very crowded,” he added. “That way you’re not stigmatizing anyone for being unvaccinated; you’re just taking that off the table. There is a legitimate protection that you’re affording.
“In a nightmare scenario … a vaccinated person who is not masked could catch a breakthrough infection and then become a spreader of sorts,” Vohra said. “So if you introduce universal masking in the indoor setting, you really curb the number of spreading events that happen from person to person, and it helps to minimize the number of ‘close contacts’ that you have, regardless of someone’s vaccination status.”
“We’re not out of this pandemic yet and we need to stay careful,” Vohra added.
What “staying careful” means when it comes to attending concerts and shows – from a monster truck show, professional bull riding or concerts by major touring acts such as Luke Bryan or Pitbull at the Save Mart Center, to a rap concert at Selland Arena or touring Broadway shows or comedy acts at the Saroyan Theatre – is therefore up to interpretation.
And it’s also reliant on the honor system and the extent to which those who attend are truthful in promising that they’ve been vaccinated or tested negative for the virus.
For the city-owned Fresno Convention Center, city spokesperson Sontaya Rose did not address questions about whether additional measures would be put in place, beyond the state’s current requirements, for larger events at Selland Arena or the Saroyan Theatre because of the renewed surge in cases and hospitalizations.
Instead, Rose quoted from the state health guidance.
Save Mart Center general manager Sean McIlhenney did not return a message from The Bee to ask about extra measures for concerts, shows or sports events there.
The arena’s website includes a COVID-19 statement indicating that “by purchasing tickets and attending an event … guests agree to follow the current California Department of Public Health Guidelines for Indoor Mega Events” by attesting that they meet the vaccination or testing requirements for everyone in their group, and will wear a face mask if they’re not vaccinated.
For outdoor events, including Fresno State Bulldogs games at Bulldog Stadium, Zweifler said the county health department worked with the university to develop guidance for fans based on public health guidelines.
“It is strongly recommended that attendees who are not fully vaccinated should wear a face covering,” the outdoor guidance states. “All attendees, including those who are fully vaccinated, should consider wearing a face covering … to help ensure protection in high-risk settings such as sitting in large crowds with others who are not vaccinated or masks.”
The guidance also issues a strong recommendation for unvaccinated people to have a negative coronavirus test result within 72 hours of attending a game. “Anyone who has a recent positive COVID-19 test, symptoms of COVID-19, or is currently considered a close contact of someone with COVID-19, should not attend.”
