Indoor Masking no longer required, but strongly recommended
Per revised California Department of Public Health and Yolo County guidelines, indoor mask requirements have been updated as follows:
- Effective March 1, 2022 , the requirement that unvaccinated individuals mask in indoor public settings will move to a strong recommendation that all persons, regardless of vaccine status, continue indoor masking.
- Universal masking shall remain required in specified high-risk settings.
- After March 11, 2022, the universal masking requirement for K-12 and Childcare settings will terminate. CDPH strongly recommends that individuals in these settings continue to mask in indoor settings when the universal masking requirement lifts.
“Yolo County continues to see a decrease in both cases and hospitalizations since the Omicron peak on January 9,” said Yolo County Health Officer, Dr. Aimee Sisson. “I continue to strongly recommend that everybody wear a mask indoors because the case rate in Yolo County remains high. Choose the best mask in terms of fit and filtration that you can consistently wear. An N95, KN95, or KF94 mask is the most protective mask available.”
Our understanding of the effectiveness of masking has evolved over the past two years of the pandemic. By wearing a mask that fits well and filters well, like an N95, KN95, or KF94, you can protect yourself against COVID-19, even if others around you are not masked. This is called one-way masking.
People have different levels of comfort with recent masking changes based on personal circumstances. As we move away from requirements to recommendations, respect for an individual’s masking choices is paramount. This respectful approach is supported by State guidelines, which indicate, “No person can be prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a business.”