California will spend two weeks evaluating COVID-19 data and conditions before making a determination on the future of masks in schools, the state’s top health official said Monday.
Speaking during an afternoon news conference, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly did not identify a specific threshold for lifting the requirement. But, he said, the state will reassess case rates, testing positivity percentages, hospitalizations, pediatric hospitalizations and vaccine rates and, on Feb. 28, possibly announce a date for transitioning masks from a mandate to a “strong recommendation” when students and staff are indoors on school campuses.
“Masking requirements were never put in place to be there forever,” he said. “It’s not a question of if; it’s a question of when.”
On Feb. 16, the sweeping indoor mask mandate that was originally announced in December is set to expire for vaccinated Californians. But the mandate will remain in effect for unvaccinated individuals, and indoor masking rules still apply for schools, child care centers, health care settings, long-term care facilities and jails.
Meanwhile, the California Department of Public Health continues to recommend established precautions that, when taken together, close off nearly all avenues for COVID-19 infection. These include avoiding large gatherings, improving indoor ventilation, washing hands, wearing a mask in public, getting vaccinated and getting boosted when eligible.
Rates continue to fall
Ghaly said state officials are encouraged by the rapid decrease in COVID-19 numbers across California, noting that overall cases have dropped 75.4 percent, hospitalizations are down 40.6 percent and the testing positivity rate has fallen 72.9 percent since Jan. 14. Moreover, prediction models used by California forecast steep declines in hospitalizations in the weeks ahead, he said.
Based on these trends, a coalition of Orange County superintendents issued a statement on Friday asking the governor and the CDPH to announce a criteria and timeline for easing school masking requirements and other COVID-19 protocols. They noted that all school districts are legally compelled to follow public health directives set forth by the governor, the CDPH and the OC Health Care Agency. Actions to the contrary risk school closures.
Ghaly said it is reasonable to conclude that the state is getting close to a point where masking requirements can be relaxed in schools, but the next steps will involve analyzing data and announcing a date. He added that some communities may choose to keep more restrictive precautions in place based on local conditions.
“One thing that has been important throughout our entire response … especially in schools, is that we don’t make hasty decisions,” he said. “We will take the collection of information together to make a decision that is good for California.”