With 5th highest vaccination rate in state, Contra Costa mask orders unchanged

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Dec. 15, 2021) — A new statewide masking order now requires everyone to wear masks in indoor public spaces regardless of their vaccination through Jan. 15, 2022.

Since Contra Costa already has a local masking order in place, the new statewide masking mandate doesn’t affect us. Thus we will retain limited exceptions for certain indoor settings not open to the general public such as offices and gyms where everyone has gotten vaccinated.

People in Contra Costa, regardless of vaccination status, will have to keep wearing face coverings in public settings as they have been doing since August.

While cases in Contra Costa have gone up since Thanksgiving, the county has one of the highest vaccination rates in California and hospitalizations are far below levels seen during the past summer and lower than in many other counties.

“The limited exceptions we made are for very low-risk scenarios where everyone is vaccinated,” said Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano. “Our community already understands and is following these rules and it would be confusing to change them for just one month.”

Contra Costa’s indoor-masking order will stay in place unless the county meets criteria for lifting the local mandate. To see our progress for meeting those criteria, visit our Indoor Mask Mandate Dashboard.