Dr. Chris Farnitano
Posted on 04/18/2020 10:11:14 PM PDT by KJC1
A new health order in Contra Costa County requires anyone working at or visiting an essential business, such as a grocery store or gas station, to wear face coverings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The order, effective Wednesday, April 22, also requires public transit and government workers to wear masks when they come close to others, or where the public is likely to be present.
Members of the public must mask when they: work at an essential business are inside an essential business, such as a grocery store visit a healthcare provider or facility wait in line for or ride public transportation
Businesses must take reasonable measures, such as posting signs, to remind visitors about masking, and not serve customers who do not observe the order. Workers do not need to mask if they are alone in a personal office but must put them on when others enter.
"We now know that a significant number of people with COVID-19 lack symptoms, or become infectious before they start showing symptoms," said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County's health officer. "That is why we all need to start wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where it's sometimes hard to maintain physical distancing, such as standing in line at the store."
The new order does not extend to people driving in personal vehicles alone or with members of their households. Contra Costa residents are encouraged to continue to observe safe physical distancing when they go out to exercise or for recreation.
When outside, everyone must carry masks or face coverings and use them whenever they come near six feet of others outside their own households.
People engaged in more strenuous exercise, such as running or bicycling, should stay further apart from others while breathing heavily and take steps to avoid breathing on others, such as moving to the other side of the road to avoid pedestrians and wearing a mask if possible.
The new order does not replace the county's stay-at-home health order or the need to maintain physical distancing, wash hands frequently and cover coughs and sneezes – all fundamental to reducing the spread of COVID-19. "Stay in place, maintain your space, cover your face," Dr. Farnitano said. "One key way the COVID-19 virus spreads is through respiratory droplets that people expel when they breathe or sneeze. By masking and observing physical distancing, we can help protect everyone in the community."
The order does not require children 12 and younger to wear masks. Children 2 years old or younger must not wear them because of the risk of suffocation.
Face coverings can be anything made of cloth, fabric or other permeable material that covers the nose and mouth and the lower part of the face. Medical-grade masks are not required – a T-shirt or bandana works fine, Dr. Farnitano said.
Masks with one-way valves for easy breathing do not qualify as face coverings under the order because they can release respiratory droplets into the surrounding air.
Face coverings can be anything made of cloth, fabric or other permeable material that covers the nose and mouth and the lower part of the face. Medical-grade masks are not required – a T-shirt or bandana works fine, Dr. Farnitano said.
Masks with one-way valves for easy breathing do not qualify as face coverings under the order because they can release respiratory droplets into the surrounding air.
Dr. Chris Farnitano
Yesterday, April 17: “San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo and Marin counties on Friday announced that everyone in those areas will be required to wear face coverings when they are out in public for essential needs, such as going to the grocery store or riding on public transportation.”
The Draeger’s supermarket in Los Altos (Santa Clara County) put up a big notification sign today saying masks are required to enter the store. They start enforcing it on April 21. Probably 90% of customers today were already wearing masks.
So N95 masks are “illegal” ?
If you have a N95 mask to protect yourself, wear a bandana over it to “protect” others.
Most (all?)of the homemade masks do little to protect the wearer. It is to lessen the amount of droplets and stuff coming out of those who are infected. So it is to keep others safer.
We have vented ones that we where shopping. We have unvented N95s when we are taking care of some older friends.
Deer in the headlights, but with his own mask!
Effing sick of this. We are such weenies. I saw a man riding down the street on his motorcycle today WEARING A MASK. For what? For whom? I saw two people INSIDE THEIR CAR wearing masks. And others have seen the same. The only excuse for such a thing is someone driving another person who is ill to a hospital. If you live with this person you do not need to wear a mask. You are already exposed.
Sometimes a picture says so much. Can’t say I’m surprised!
This is seriously a WTH order. Pull up your shirt, grab a napkin hold it up to your face and cough. Do we really think that T-shirt/whatever material is blocking more (either coming or going) than an N-95 mask?
Extremists are treating this virus as an aerosolized bio-weapon. What do they know, or what aren’t we being told?
Cheesecloth is good.
We went out today to get a couple things and noticed more than few people driving while wearing masks. That makes NO sense. At all.
I'd say that most workaday people who get their news from television and aren't seriously aware of how things work are genuinely afraid for their lives.
What a bunch of idiots wasting their time. Do any of them know how large viruses are? And of course, kids 12 and under don’t catch viruses and share them with everyone they meet. Too stupid for prime time.
Gates/Soros trial run for ‘no tattoo or microchip’ no food for you.
tired of this also (let’s get back to work, and protect/shelter the vulnerable as we do so), but,
having worn a mask alone and inside a car the other day, my explanation:
-had to go to multiple public locations
-mask then-indicated due to risk to elderly family member (and required under public orders)
-the outside of a mask is to be treated as contaminated once worn in public (according to instruction from mers-experienced rn)
-which means the contaminated mask must be taken off with decontaminated hands (the hands touch the head in the process), the mask itself discarded (buy one where now?) or decontaminated, and the hands then decontaminated again
-that seemed like a pain, and involved using another mask
-don’t mind looking ridiculous if there’s good cause
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