SF’s Mask Mandate Might Be Coming Back
San Francisco mayor London Breed has finally announced that the city is indeed looking at re-instituting mask rules regardless of vaccine status according to a story by San Francisco Chronicle reporter Trisha Thadani
“Yes, we are looking at mask mandates for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Yes, we are looking at mandatory vaccines for people who are not .. just city employees.” – Mayor London Breed via SF Chronicle
The mayor also is also exploring if it can mandate vaccines beyond city employees.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that London Breed is consulting with the City Attorney’s Office about what kind of vaccine mandates the city is allowed to make and is hoping to have more clarity by early next week.
Mayor London Breed said that San Francisco is exploring how it can “go further with its vaccine mandate.”
The city is also considering an indoor mask mandate for everyone, regardless of vaccination status.https://t.co/4TGL3kKCC1
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) July 29, 2021
This comes after ABC7 reported that UCSF epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford says that he expects three to four Bay Area counties with “high” transmission rates of COVID might be the first to reinstate a mask mandate.
San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda and Solano counties all have reported a 30-70% increase in COVID cases over the past week.
Dr. Rutherford said that these counties could be the first to reinstate mandated mask rules.
S.F. could broaden vaccine mandate and require masks indoors again, mayor says https://t.co/actsx6g81K via @sfchronicle
— Trisha Thadani (@TrishaThadani) July 29, 2021
Most Bay Area counties currently recommend wearing a mask indoors regardless if you’re vaccinated, but as of yet there has been no mandate. But Dr. Rutherford says an announcement involving a potential mandate could be coming soon.
“I think it could happen within a week,” said Rutherford. “I would imagine they may decide to do it collectively or they may decide to do it individually.”
The most recent numbers for San Francisco show a 72% increase of COVID cases for the most recent 7-day rolling period (July 14-21, 2021)
The California Department of Public Health formally recommended Wednesday that state residents resume wearing a face covering indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.
Read the full story on ABC7
