Mask Mandate Takes Effect In RivCo As COVID Hospitalizations Rise

RIVERSIDE, CA — Citing a sharp increase in COVID-19 infection rates since Thanksgiving, the state Wednesday began requiring mask-wearing in all indoor public settings across California regardless of vaccination status.

The statewide mask mandate will remain in place until Jan. 15. Among the indoor public spaces affected are retail stores, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment centers and government offices that serve the public.

According to the state, roughly half of California's population already lives in counties that had local mask-wearing mandates in place.

In addition to imposing the mask mandate, the state also toughened the restriction for unvaccinated people who attend indoor "mega-events" of 1,000 people or more, requiring them to receive a negative COVID test within one day of the event if it's a rapid antigen test or within two days for a PCR test. The previous rule required a test within 72 hours of the event.\

State officials are also recommending, but not requiring, that people who travel to California or return to the state after traveling be tested for COVID within three to five days.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said the changes were prompted by what he called a 47 percent increase in COVID-19 case rates across the state since Thanksgiving. He said over that time, the statewide rate of daily new cases went from 9.6 per 100,000 residents to more than 14 per 100,000.

Ghaly said state officials also acted in hopes of avoiding the dramatic surge in cases experienced statewide last year during the winter holiday months.

"As we look at the evidence that masks do make a difference, even a 10 percent increase in indoor masking can reduce case transmission significantly," he said Monday.

Under previous state guidelines — which were followed by many counties including Riverside, Orange and San Diego — masks were only required indoors at public transit facilities such as airports, healthcare settings, adult and senior care facilities, schools, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, emergency shelters and cooling centers.

The state technically already required mask-wearing for unvaccinated people at indoor public facilities, but the new rule impacts everyone regardless of vaccine status.

Riverside County COVID-19 Statistics

On Wednesday, Riverside University Health System announced that COVID-19 hospitalizations increased by 60 patients since one week ago to 331, while the number of those patients in intensive care was 78, up by 14 over the seven-day period.

The total number of COVID cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020 rose by 3,821 since last Wednesday, reaching 384,685.

A total of 5,523 deaths from virus-related complications have been recorded in the county in the past 20 months, an increase of 31 since a week ago. The fatalities are trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates and can go back weeks, according to health officials.

To schedule COVID-19 vaccination, visit https://myturn.ca.gov/