California's Alameda County reinstates indoor mask mandate due to surge in COVID cases

Starting Friday, masks are required to be worn indoors in Alameda County, California, in locations such as offices, restaurants, public transportation, and other public places due to rising COVID cases. Though some school districts and universities had already reinstated mask mandates, Alameda is the first county in the state to do so.

The county with 1.7 million residents, just across the bay from San Francisco, will also require masks in government offices, healthcare facilities, shelters and rideshare services like Uber and Lyft. Oakland International Airport announced that everyone over 2 years of age must wear a face covering.

However, the mask mandate does not apply to K-12 schools that are finishing the 2021-2022 school year, yet masks will be mandatory in other childcare settings, such as daycares and summer schools.

According to the county, COVID cases surpassed the levels seen last summer during the Delta variant and are approaching the peak previously seen in the  winter of 2020-2021.

Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss said, "Rising COVID cases in Alameda County are now leading to more people being hospitalized and today’s action reflects the seriousness of the moment. We cannot ignore the data, and we can’t predict when this wave may end. Putting our masks back on gives us the best opportunity to limit the impact of a prolonged wave on our communities."

However, Berkeley is excluded from the mask requirement because the city has their own independent health department.

Business owners told CBS that they are concerned that customers will go elsewhere because Alameda County is the only one in the Bay Area requiring masks indoors again.

Los Angeles County, is currently in the "medium" tier of the state COVID designation system but could reach the highest level by the end of the month, thereby necessitating a return of mandatory masks indoors in the county.