Mask mandate downgraded to strong recommendation
March 7, 2022 \u2014 The county indoor mask mandate is now a strong recommendation, though the most recent health order consists largely of reasons residents should follow Public Health Officer Dr. Andy Coren\u2019s advice to continue masking in indoor spaces. \nBusinesses are still authorized to request that patrons mask up, and Coren expressed confidence in the community\u2019s judgment after years of education about maintaining the health of the people around them.\nPeople do appear to have taken more responsibility for their own testing, which has led to fewer publicly available data points. But Coren stressed that he believes that local hospitals are now less likely to be overwhelmed by covid patients.\nSchools continue to follow the advice of the California Department of Public Health and the Department of Education, and are not expected to change their masking policy until the fourteenth.