Excited and a little confused,” is how one San Francisco restaurant owner described feeling in an AP story yesterday about the state’s “grand reopening.” It’s understandable, given how rules have evolved and changed over the past 15 months. But, starting Tuesday, things got a lot simpler for Californians: no more capacity restrictions, no more colored tiers, and no more masks … in “most” settings.
New Mask Rules
Under the state mask rules that went into effect yesterday, masks are not required for vaccinated people except in certain places. Here is the exact language from the California Department of Public Health guidance:
Masks are not required for fully vaccinated individuals, except in the following settings where masks are required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status:
On public transit[1] (examples: airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares) and in transportation hubs (examples: airport, bus terminal, marina, train station, seaport or other port, subway station or any other area that provides transportation)
Indoors in K-12 schools[2], child care[3] and other youth settings.
Note: This may change as updated K-12 school guidance is forthcoming, pending updates for K-12 operational guidance from the CDC.
