Napa County Recommends Masks Indoors Amid Delta Variant Surge

NAPA COUNTY, CA — Napa County on Monday joined the counties of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz in recommending that everyone, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places.

"With cases of COVID-19 rising locally and increased reports of the very infectious Delta variant ... people are recommended to wear masks indoors in places like grocery or retail stores, theaters, and family entertainment centers, even if they are fully vaccinated," the four counties said in a news release Monday.

According to the health officers of Monterey, Napa, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, Delta variants are spreading quickly in the Bay Area and COVID-19 hospitalizations among the unvaccinated are increasing. The recommendation follows the same one made Friday by eight other Bay Area counties.

Businesses are urged to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering indoor areas of their businesses to provide better protection to their employees and customers.

This will also make it easier for businesses to be sure unvaccinated people are masked, the counties said, noting that workplaces must comply with Cal/OSHA requirements.

The Delta variants are easier to pass from person to person, the health officers said, urging everyone to take action to protect themselves and others by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask indoors and in crowded settings.

In June, the Delta variants comprised 43 percent of all specimens sequenced in California. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention —CDC — noted that Delta variants are now responsible for 58 percent of new infections across the nation.

Fully vaccinated people are well-protected from infections and serious illness due to COVID19 including the Delta variants, the health officers said.

"Vaccinating as many people as possible, as soon as possible, continues to be our best defense against severe COVID-19 infection and the harm it can do to our region."

The counties did not say how long the recommendation for everyone to wear masks indoors in public settings will remain in place but said the health officers will revisit the recommendation in the coming weeks as they continue to monitor transmission rates, hospitalizations, deaths, and increasing vaccination rates throughout the region.