Several California Bay Area health agencies announced last week that mandatory masking would return to hospitals and healthcare settings due to the upcoming fall and winter months.
Contra Costa, Sonoma, Alameda, and San Mateo issued mask orders for health care staff in hospitals and other care facilities. The orders go into effect starting Nov. 1, 2023, and will last until April 30, 2024, officials said, citing recent increases in COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory viruses that are typically commonplace during the colder months.
“Each year we see that higher rates of influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses that can cause severe respiratory infections occur annually between late fall and spring,” Dr. Karen Smith, the Sonoma County interim health officer, said in a statement last week.
Read more: Health Care Workers Mandated to Wear Masks in Several Counties: Officials
