Monterey County Board of Supervisors Suspend Indoor Mask Mandate; May Consider Revising Face Covering Requirement at December 8 Meeting

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors at their regular meeting on Tuesday, November 16 voted in favor 3 to 2 to suspend a masking requirement of its Indoor Face Covering Ordinance, effective immediately. This means while wearing face coverings in indoor public settings remains strongly recommended, it is no longer required. The county’s indoor face covering ordinance is currently tied to CDC Community Transmission Rates. The requirement to wear masks indoors was triggered when Monterey County reached the “Substantial” level of those rates; however, the ordinance allows the Board the option to suspend those requirements, which they did. Additionally, at their upcoming December 8 meeting, the Board is expected to get a report on local metrics and COVID-19 data reporting and may consider revising its indoor face covering ordinance to be tied to local data reporting vs CDC rates. All county residents are reminded to continue to follow state face covering requirements (https://covid19.ca.gov/masks-and-ppe/) and that Monterey County’s Health Officer strongly recommends residents wear face coverings indoor public settings to help reduce virus transmission. The vote does not affect Monterey County’s requirement that face coverings be worn in all county worksites and facilities by both employees and members of the public (with limited exceptions).