Bay Area counties implement mask mandates for health care facilities

As fall brings the start of respiratory illness season, mask mandates are coming back to health care facilities across the Bay Area.

The mandates in health care settings returned Friday — some just for health care personnel and others for patients and visitors — in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties.

Related: Do I need a second dose of the new COVID-19 vaccine?

The mandates are aimed at reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses such as influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, which can be particularly harmful for some people. For the flu and COVID, those 65 or older, pregnant or immunocompromised people or people with conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease or obesity are most at risk. With RSV, people 75 and older face the greatest danger, while those above the age of 60, who live in nursing homes or have conditions such as diabetes, heart or lung disease or obesity are also at risk.

Though masks are only mandatory in health care settings, people should consider whether it’s a step they want to take in other settings to protect themselves, their families and their friends, said Kismet Baldwin-Santana, the health officer for San Mateo County.

“If you’re going into the doctor’s office, if you’re going in to visit somebody at a hospital or if you’re taking care of someone who is sick, then I would suggest that you wear a mask,” she said.

Multiple precautions provide a “swiss cheese effect” so that, even if none work perfectly, “hopefully by the time you get to the end, you’ve prevented someone from getting sick,” Baldwin-Santana said.

Precautions can include covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, handwashing, getting vaccinated and staying home when ill, she said. She also recommended wearing a mask while inside an enclosed space or staying in well-ventilated areas.

“When you layer them all up … you’re in the best place to stay healthy,” Baldwin-Santana said.

Researchers are not yet sure how prevalent COVID infections will be each year, though there have been annual “bumps in the winter time,” Baldwin-Santana said. Numbers also rise in the summertime, she said.

“COVID is here to stay,” she said. People “shouldn’t forget about COVID by any means. It’s just that there’s other viruses circulating in the community at the same time in the winter season.”

All of the health orders are in effect through March 31. Here’s a county-by-county look at the mask directives.

Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County is requiring masks for everyone in patient care areas of health care facilities, according to the county’s health order.

It’s intended to reduce the risk of illness for vulnerable populations and prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.

The order does not apply to children under the age of 2 years old, those with health conditions or disabilities that prevent mask wearing, those who are hearing-impaired and people who work in roles in which mask wearing would pose risks.

San Mateo County

In San Mateo County, the mask mandate only applies to health care workers and visitors in the patient care areas of skilled nursing facilities, according to the order.

The directive does not apply to patients. There is also an exception for those who have medical conditions or disabilities that prevent mask-wearing.

“The residents of facilities are a really high-risk population for severe illness if they do get something like flu, COVID, RSV, some of the viruses that are circulating during the respiratory virus season, and we have had outbreaks in some of our skilled nursing facilities with hospitalizations and deaths,” said Baldwin-Santana. “We really want to protect them as best we can during this season.”

Alameda County

Health officers of Alameda County and the city of Berkeley, which has its own public health department, jointly issued an order that requires staff members at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities and dialysis and infusion clinics to wear masks to prevent the spread of influenza, COVID-19 and RSV.

The order does not require mask-wearing for anyone beyond staff but strongly recommends it for anyone in a health care setting.

Contra Costa County

In Contra Costa County, the health order requires all personnel in health care facilities to wear masks when in an enclosed space with patients or when providing direct care to a patient, according to the order.

The order has exceptions for those with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent mask-wearing, those communicating with the hearing impaired and those who would be put at risk by wearing a mask due to the nature of their work.