KRON4

Mask mandate returns for California lawmakers, staff

FILE - In this May 7, 2020, file photo, California Highway Patrol Officer S. Arellano wears a face mask as he and other officers form a line around at anticipation of a protest rally at the the state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, the mask mandate was reinstated for all legislators and staff entering the Capitol regardless of their vaccination status after nine new COVID-19 cases was reported last week. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — At least nine people who work at the California state Capitol have contracted the coronavirus.

The outbreak has triggered a return of the mask mandate for lawmakers and staff.


Masks have been required in public spaces inside the Capitol throughout the pandemic.

But fully vaccinated lawmakers and staff had been allowed to remove their masks in their offices.

Four of the new cases at the Capitol are people who were fully vaccinated.

State data shows such cases are rare.

The state has confirmed 8,699 coronavirus infections in fully vaccinated people, less than a half-percent.

That’s 0.043% of the more than 20 million people inoculated.