Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom will end the indoor mask mandate for vaccinated citizens only starting February 15.
In an announcement on Monday, the governor said that hospitalizations have stabilized since the omicron peak, allowing for the mandate to expire.
“CA’s case rate has decreased by 65% since our Omicron peak. Our hospitalizations have stabilized across the state. Our statewide indoor mask requirement will expire on 2/15. Unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors. Get vaccinated. Get boosted,” he tweeted.
State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón likewise said that the omicron variant has “loosened its hold on California.”
“Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving,” said Aragón. “With things moving in the right direction, we are making responsible modifications to COVID-19 prevention measures, while also continuing to develop a longer-term action plan for the state.”
Nearly 70 percent of the state of California has been vaccinated against coronavirus, with the current CDC stats putting it at 69.4 percent of the state’s population.
According to NBC News, schoolchildren will still be required to mask while local governments will be allowed to decide on their own indoor masking mandates. Shortly after the announcement, Los Angeles County Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the city would not lift the mask mandate on February 15.
The Golden State will also soon lift requirements for people to produce a negative coronavirus test before visiting hospitals or nursing homes.
Indoor “mega-events” with more than 1000 people will also require people to show vaccination proof or a negative test, while the unvaccinated will have to wear masks.
“For outdoor events with more than 10,000 people, there is no vaccination requirement but masks or negative tests are recommended,” according to the Associated Press.
Last week, Governor Newsom took severe heat from both the left and the right when a photograph went viral of him posing alongside the HIV-positive Magic Johnson at the NFC Championship in Los Angeles.
“I was very judicious yesterday, very judicious,” said Newsom at a press conference. “And you’ll see the photo that I did take where Magic was kind enough, generous enough to ask me for a photograph, and in my left hand is a mask, and I took a photo. The rest of the time, I wore it as we all should. Not when I had a glass of water. I encourage everyone else to do so. And that’s it.”
When asked if perhaps he should have been more thoughtful about how the photo could be perceived, Newsom said he was just trying to be gracious.
“I was trying to be gracious, and I made a mist—you know, I mean I was trying to be gracious and took the mask off for a brief second. But no, I encourage people to continue to wear them,” he said.
Footage and photos from that day appeared to contradict the governor’s account:
The Los Angeles Times scolded both Newsom and Mayor Eric Garcetti for violating their own rules while telling others to follow them.
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