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Governor Gavin Newsom is not ready to officially say if a mask mandate across California will return. As multiple counties across California have taken the initiative to either encourage their residents to mask up or require masks indoors, Newsom has not officially committed to imposing a mandate statewide.
While being asked about the mask mandates across certain counties of California, Newsom would say
“We’ll see. Look, at the end of the day the epidemiology, the spread, the variants make that determination,”
Data released Tuesday shows 61% of California's population have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
While Covid positivity rates continue to rise across California, officials say that the delta variant has accounted for 60% of positive cases in July.
Newsom would also mention,
“I think we’ll get through this. We’re not looking to do any physical distancing, any social distancing, we’re not looking at closing anything down,”
The increase of positive cases across California comes at a difficult time for Newsom as he is facing recall.
Experts say that Newsom's decision will have consequences. On one hand, another mask requirement across California would aggravate a vast number of voters. While on the other hand, doing nothing could irriate the people who think he is not doing enough or believe more protection is needed.
The California Department of Public Health continues to support the counties that choose to impose stricter Covid-19 protocols.