The mask mandates have made a return to a US state county after warnings have been issued over an increased risk of catching Covid.
Fears are rising that the virus could be making a comeback after one Californian county is urging its residents to keep up to date with their vaccinations and have brought in a new mask mandate.
This comes after the county warned that there is a ‘greater risk’ of contracting Covid as the annual flu season begins.
The warning came from Dr Karen Smith, who is the interim health officer of the Sonoma County Department of Public Health, who announced that anyone who enters specific healthcare facilities in the area will need to wear a mask.
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This includes places like long-term care facilities, dialysis centers, and acute and non-acute rehabilitation facilities.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Sonoma County Department of Health said: “The rationale behind this order is to protect the most vulnerable populations (such as the elderly and cancer patients) and to try to prevent medical staff from getting sick and creating staffing problems for facilities.”
There are some exemptions to the order, which includes that anyone who has a ‘diagnosed medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents the individual from wearing a face mask’ will not be required to wear one.
So, when will the mask mandate come into effect? It will be enforced from November 1 and will run until the end of March next year.
The mandate goes on to explain which masks will qualify for the order which includes surgical masks, KN95, KF94, and N95 respirators.
However, anything more informal such as a scarf, ski mask, balaclava, bandana, turtleneck, collar, cloth mask, or ‘any mask that has an unfiltered, one-way exhaust valve’ will not be accepted.
Smith is also urging people to get vaccinated with both Covid and flu vaccines to avoid spreading viruses this autumn.
She has recommended that everyone over the age of six months old should be vaccinated, and both vaccinated and unvaccinated people should wear masks, according to the official.
Earlier this year, the White House announced that it was ending its mask mandate in schools, saying: “Given the incredibly low risk of serious COVID-19 illness for children and young adults, threatening to shut them out of an education is an intolerable infringement on personal freedom.
“Such mandates usurp parental authority and burden students of many faiths.”