SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — California has mandated everyone over the age of 2 to wear a face covering outside their home. These face coverings have to cover both the nose and mouth to be effective.
Specific exceptions to the mandate includes:
- Persons in a car alone or solely with members of their own household.
- Persons who are working in an office or in a room alone.
- Persons who are actively eating or drinking provided that they are able to maintain a distance of at least six feet away from persons who are not members of the same household or residence.
- Persons who are outdoors and maintaining at least 6 feet of social distancing from others not in their household. Such persons must have a face covering with them at all times and must put it on if they are within 6 feet of others who are not in their household.
- Persons who are obtaining a service involving the nose or face for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service.
- Workers who are required to wear respiratory protection.
- Persons who are specifically exempted from wearing face coverings by other CDPH guidance.
The state is also making the following exceptions to the mandate for:
- Persons younger than two years old. These very young children must not wear a face covering because of the risk of suffocation.
- Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance. Such conditions are rare.
- Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
- Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.
However, much like Costco’s new policy, people with a medical condition who work in a place where they have regular contact with others have to wear an alternative face covering, “such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it.”
The mandate issued on November 16 comes the same day Governor Gavin Newsom pulled an “emergency brake” on reopening statewide.
Several counties were moved back to the red and purple tiers, tightening restrictions as coronavirus cases increase across the United States.