Can you ditch your mask once California reopens on June 15?
Let's break down the rules.
Once the state reopens fully vaccinated people can take off their masks indoors in most places, including stores restaurants and other businesses.
Unvaccinated people have to keep wearing mask indoors.
But there are a few places where everyone will have to keep their masks on, even those fully vaccinated. Those places include:
- Public transportation, which includes planes, buses, Muni and BART
- Health care facilities like hospitals or nursing homes
- Schools
The update is part of California aligning with CDC's masking guidance as part of its reopening.
Governor Gavin Newsom talked about the reopening on an Instagram live with John Legend Monday saying, “We’ll move beyond masking though we’re mindful of all the variants. Mindful not everyone’s been vaccinated and mindful on what’s going on around the rest of the globe. So we can’t spike the football, we’re not announcing mission accomplished. But substantially full throttle, turn the page.”
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Some people out shopping Monday night, hours before the reopening, were mixed on if they’ll keep wearing one anyway.
“I’ll test the waters first and see if everyone else is wearing a mask or not,” said Mary Grace of Santa Clara.
The drastic change will be difficult for some. Dr. Thomas Plante, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University, says we should give each other time.
“We need to find a way to be gentle with each other, compassionate with each other, respectful of each other,” he said. “And let people, if they want to wear a mask, great, if they don’t want to wear a mask, great. And be open and tolerant of this.”
Each business can still require people to wear a mask regardless of the new rules – so they’ll still want to keep a mask in the car or in their pocket.
“I’m ready. Yeah, I’m ready,” said Milad Roy of Santa Clara. “It’s been more than a year and at some point we have to go back to normal.”
