Are you masking up as COVID-19’s omicron variant spreads? Let us know in our poll
California is about a week into its renewed mandate for residents to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces as a measure to limit the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19.
But how many people are complying with it? The results, based on observations at businesses and restaurants in the Fresno area, appear mixed.
The Fresno Bee is asking readers to participate in this poll to gauge compliance with the masking rules through the holiday season. It is not a scientific poll, but we hope it will offer a look at the degree to which people are following the guidance of the state and the encouragement of local health officials in Fresno County and neighboring counties in the central San Joaquin Valley.
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The poll is open for a week, through 5 p.m. Dec. 29, and the results will be published soon thereafter.
The Bee reported that on the first day of the new masking mandate, there appeared to be little if any change in shoppers’ behavior at stores around Fresno. Some businesses had signs up requiring masks for entry, but some patrons were going about their business with no masks inside. Raul Gutierrez Jr., the head of the local restaurant association, said he expects that some eateries may choose to ask their customers to abide by the rules, but others likely won’t.
California health officials reinstated the mask requirement last week, taking effect Dec. 15 and continuing through Jan. 15, citing an increase in new coronavirus infections following the Thanksgiving holiday. By early last week, the statewide seven-day average rate of new coronavirus cases increased 47% since Thanksgiving and hospitalizations rose by 14%, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The state had lifted an earlier indoor mask mandate as the number of new cases shrank. But that was before a late-summer and fall surge in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths attributed to the emergence of the delta variant.
Now the omicron variant, first reported in southern African countries in November, is on pace to quickly overtake the delta strain as the dominant version of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Face masks are described by medical experts including Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer, as one of several “layers of protection” that people can employ to protect themselves and others from transmitting COVID-19 and its variants.
Vohra described getting coronavirus vaccines and booster shots as the most significant of the layers. For those who are unvaccinated, face masks and hand hygiene including frequent hand washing or sanitation are additional layers.
As of Monday, about 54% of Fresno County’s total population of more than 1 million residents were considered “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19, having received both doses of either the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or a single shot of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. About 15% of the county’s residents have received a booster vaccine dose.
No other county in the central San Joaquin Valley has more than 50% of its population fully vaccinated. By comparison, the statewide rate of fully vaccinated residents is above 65%.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 12:17 PM.
