Central Coast counties are dropping their indoor mask mandates — except for Santa Barbara County, which is still undecided.
The move comes after state public health officials announced that the statewide masking requirement would expire on Wednesday, February 15. Counties are still allowed to have their own mandates, but many are choosing to follow the state.
Masking indoors is still required for people who are not vaccinated, as well as everyone in K-12 schools, public transportation, health care facilities and congregate settings.
San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein announced today that the county’s mandate would expire next week along with the state’s.
SLO County put the mandate into place last September due to the Delta variant, and kept it through the surge of cases brought on by the Omicron variant.
County officials say cases are dropping and hospitalizations are stable. However, the county reported 10 additional deaths between last Friday and Tuesday.
Borenstein said in a statement, “Now that SLO County has weathered the worst of this Omicron surge, we can lift this requirement and look to our community to wear a mask when it’s most important to do so: in crowded indoor spaces, if you are at higher risk or close to others who are, if you feel unwell, or if you are in any of the settings still covered by state requirements.”
Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties also announced this week they will follow the state’s lead.
Santa Barbara County, however, is still undecided. The county’s public health department said on Tuesday it’s still weighing ending its own mandate, which is scheduled to end March 3.
