Riverside County Face Mask Update

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County residents who've been fully vaccinated against coronavirus can stop wearing face masks in most situations starting June 15.

That's the word from the state.

California health officials announced Monday that on that mid-June date, the state will align with federal guidance on face masks. Since May 2020, Riverside County has followed the state's COVID-19 orders and guidelines but has not imposed anything stricter.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that fully vaccinated people can quit wearing face masks in most situations. California didn't immediately follow suit. On Monday, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly explained why the state has been holding off.

"On June 15, California plans to implement the CDC's guidelines around masking to allow fully vaccinated Californians to go without a mask in most indoor settings. This four-week period will give Californians time to prepare for this change while we continue our relentless focus on delivering vaccines, particularly in underserved communities."

Thursday's new CDC mask guidance states, "Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance."

However, the federal guidance reminds the public that face masks will still be required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.

California's stricter guidelines remain in place until June 15. The California Department of Public Health's mask guidelines currently state, "For fully vaccinated persons, face coverings are not required outdoors except when attending crowded outdoor events ... . In indoor settings outside of one's home ... face coverings continue to be required regardless of vaccination status," except when visiting with other "fully vaccinated people in indoor or outdoor settings."

Fully vaccinated people can go maskless and forgo social distancing with unvaccinated people — indoors or out — but only when visiting with people "from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease ...," according to the CDPH.

Riverside County has not rigidly enforced any health guidelines or orders from the state or federal government. Sheriff Chad Bianco declared last year that he would not assign deputies to look for violators or write tickets. He also publicly asserted last November that the governor's stay-at-home orders, which have since been rescinded, were an affront to personal liberty, and deputies would not enforce them.

Bianco's words preceded his eventual COVID-19 diagnosis. The sheriff made a full recovery.

As of Monday, Riverside County had administered 1,883,688 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Riverside University Health System. Fully vaccinated people represent 36.4 percent of the county's vaccine-eligible population, the data show. The most recent CDPH figures show 49 percent of California's vaccine-eligible population is fully vaccinated.

The portal to make an appointment for a vaccine at county-run and other sites can be accessed via www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine. Anyone who needs assistance may also call the county's 211 helpline.