San Rafael, CA – As local COVID-19 transmission and hospitalization rates continue to decrease, Marin County Public Health will expand the current list of exemptions for indoor masking in Marin County, starting October 15.
Indoor settings that potentially qualify, if they can verify all present are fully vaccinated, include gyms, fitness centers, office settings, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings, and college classes. In these limited settings, individuals are exempt from the indoor face covering requirement if all of the following circumstances are satisfied:
- The host, employer, or organizer has verified that all individuals present are fully vaccinated (two weeks following a person’s second dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the first dose of a Johnson & Johnson vaccine); and
- There are no more than 100 individuals present; and
- The host, employer, or organizer can control access to the setting, and the setting is not open to the general public; and
- The host, employer, or organizer maintains a list of individuals present.
“We’re not ready to lift the mandate across the board, but we’re in a good place to ease restrictions for select, controlled settings with a consistent group of people.” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County’s Public Health Officer. “Science shows that when an entire group is vaccinated, the risk of infection is much lower. Some settings have already adopted mandatory vaccination policies for all staff and customers, and this gives more incentive for others to follow suit.”
A revised order will be effective Friday, October 15, and the new exemption does not apply to public indoor settings like retail, bars and restaurants, and other places of businesses that are open to the public.
The revised order comes on the heels of a new criteria for lifting the indoor mask requirement altogether. Currently, Marin County is satisfying two of the three criteria and hopes to make progress toward the final metric over the coming weeks. Until that criteria is met, masks are still required in all other indoor public environments not outlined in the revised order.
Learn more about Marin County’s current health orders and mask guidelines by visit Coronavirus.MarinHHS.org.
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