San Francisco Mayor London Breed was caught in clear violation of her city’s strict indoor mask mandate during a visit to the Black Cat in the Tenderloin last Thursday, and once again defended her actions when speaking to reporters Friday.

As currently written, the city’s health order — which applies to vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals alike — only allows for masks to be removed “while actively eating or drinking.” It states, “People are urged to be seated at a table or positioned at a stationary counter or place while eating or drinking.”

A video shows a maskless breed — neither seated at a table nor positioned at a stationary counter — standing and dancing at the nightclub without any food or drinks in her hand. She also posed for photos while not wearing a mask and defended her actions by stating, “At the end of the day, everyone who comes in here has to show proof of vaccination. That gives me a lot of reassurance.”

The city’s mask mandate does not contain an exemption for businesses requiring proof of vaccination for entry, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health has offered no timeline for when the mask mandate may be softened, even as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the city rapid decline.

When Breed was asked by reporters about the breach on Friday, she once again used the vaccination defense. “It’s sad that this is even a story,” she said.

San Francisco mayor defends not wearing a mask while partying, says she “got up and started dancing because I was feeling the spirit and I wasn’t thinking about a mask.” pic.twitter.com/WDzLiBN5JZ

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 20, 2021

“From my perspective, I was there, I was eating and I was drinking, and I was sitting with my friends and everyone who came in there was vaccinated,” Breed said. “So the fact that we have turned this into a story about being maskless, No: I’m not going to sip and put my mask on, sip and put my mask on, sip and put mask on, eat and put my mask on And yes, while we’re drinking, like everyone else there, we were all having a good time and again, all vaccinated.”

To be clear: This is a story because Breed’s views run contrary to the city’s mask mandate as written, which requires all individuals — vaccinated or not — to only remove masks indoors while “actively eating or drinking.”

She went on to say that asking individuals to wear masks in between sips and bites is “not realistic,” and once again cited vaccination when explaining why she did not wear a mask when taking pictures with people inside the nightclub.

“When I took a picture, as I do in any case or do an interview, yes I take my mask off when I take a picture,” she said. “I’m vaccinated. I don’t need to wear a mask to take a picture every single time. I don’t want to.”

The city’s mask mandate as currently written would not allow masks to be removed while taking a picture indoors, regardless of whether a person is vaccinated or if they “don’t want to.” The mayor’s office has not responded to multiple SFGATE requests for comment on whether Breed is calling on city health officials to soften the mandate.

“The message I want to get out is: Support our nightlife venues, support our restaurants, go out and enjoy yourself,” she said. “Make sure you are vaccinated because of the requirements, but don’t feel as though you have to be micro-managed about mask wearing. We don’t need the fun police to come in and tell us what we should or shouldn’t be doing. We know what we need to do to protect ourselves.”

SFGATE also reached out to the San Francisco Department of Public Health and asked whether any future changes to the mask mandate are on the horizon.

“Our intent is to encourage people to do their best understanding that every circumstance is unique,” the department said in a statement. “We are focused first on providing information on how people can best protect themselves and others and are continuing to work with patrons and businesses to comply with the guidelines. We will make adjustments as needed based on science and data, and maintain a regional approach on COVID-19 mitigation strategies, when possible.”

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Last week, the public health departments in San Francisco and Marin counties announced changes to COVID-19 face mask requirements in indoor settings. On Friday, the softened mandates went into effect.

In both counties, an exemption allows people to remove their masks in some indoor settings where stable groups of fully vaccinated people gather. Think of these settings as places where the same group of people get together again and again, such as yoga classes or office settings.

Those places include offices, gyms, fitness centers, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings, college classes and other indoor gatherings, not exceeding 100 people.

The employer, or the host of the indoor gatherings, is required to control access and verify that everyone present is fully vaccinated. They must also ensure proper ventilation, no recent COVID-19 outbreaks, and that guests and children under 12 are not present, among other safety measures, the counties said.

The new exemption does not apply to public indoor settings such as retail stores, bars and restaurants or other places of businesses that are open to the public. People can continue to remove their masks temporarily in restaurants and bars to eat or drink.

San Francisco specifically noted that masks are still required in “shared indoor areas such as common areas of a building, [including] elevators, lobbies and restrooms, where people from different workplace settings could interact.”

• For more information on SF’s revised mandate, visit sfmayor.org.
• For more details on Marin’s softened mandate, visit marincounty.org.

When will SF and Marin and other Bay Area counties fully lift the indoor mask mandate?

Last week, San Francisco and Marin — along with six other Bay Area counties, including Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma and Napa — also presented three criteria for when mask mandates can be lifted entirely.

First, a county must reach the “moderate” (yellow) tier of case rates, as determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data tracker, and remain there for three weeks. Marin is the only county in the state in the yellow tier; it moved into this lower-risk position two days ago.

Second, the county’s health officer must determine that COVID-19 hospitalizations are “low and stable.”

Finally, 80% of a county’s total population must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or eight weeks after a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for children ages 5 to 11. As of Thursday, 75% of San Francisco’s population and 81% of Marin’s population is fully vaccinated.

Marin is the only county in the Bay Area that is close to meeting the criteria for lifting the mask mandate. “We want to see fewer people hospitalized with COVID-19 before lifting the mandate,” said Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s health director. “Last week, there were 15 total COVID-19 hospitalizations in Marin. So we set that as the metric — we’ll want to see less than 15 people in the hospital for COVID-19 before lifting the mandate.”

While Marin’s move into the yellow tier is promising, it needs to remain at that level for 21 consecutive days. “Three consecutive weeks in yellow will mean we’ve maintained fewer than 18 new cases per day on average,” Willis explained. “That’s among the lowest rates in the state, and California’s rates are the lowest in the nation. We’re in a good place to peel back restrictions. We’ve talked about following the science as we place new restrictions, and the local mask mandate helped control the fourth wave.As we moved out of lockdown in the past, we saw evidence that we can safely lift restrictions when conditions allow.With over 90 percent of our eligible community fully vaccinated, we’ve earned another margin of normalcy. “

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The city of San Francisco is softening its mask rules ahead of the state of California.

Beginning Feb. 1, office workers, gym members and so-called “stable cohorts” of vaccinated and boosted (if eligible) individuals may remove their face coverings indoors again, officials said in a statement released Thursday. This change to the city’s mandate reinstates the exemption to California’s mask indoor mandate that was in place before the omicron surge, and allowed to remain in place by the state. The city voluntarily removed this exemption at the end of December.

Stable cohorts are groups of people who get together again and again in the same places, such as a yoga class, college class or religious gathering, for example. These stable groups must be fully vaccinated and boosted in order to take off their masks indoors, which is a change from the previous health order where boosters were not required for unmasking.

In accordance with the state’s mask rules, the city’s mask mandate remains in effect for most other public settings regardless of vaccination status. Children in schools, transitional kindergarten through 12th grade, are required to continue wearing masks indoors. Masks are also still required in retail stores, bars and restaurants or other places that are open to the public. People can continue to remove their masks temporarily in restaurants and bars to eat or drink.

San Francisco is reinstating the mask exemption that was in place under state law—before the Omicron surge. Starting Feb. 1, masks may be removed indoors for offices, gyms and other settings with 100% full vaccination and up to date booster shots when eligible. https://t.co/s24fg3P6oJ

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) January 27, 2022

The city also said it’s taking steps to align its health order with the California Department of Public Health’s order.

Beginning Feb. 1, you can enter indoor “mega-events” of 500 people or more with a negative COVID-19 test as an alternative to being fully vaccinated. The city will begin allowing religious and medical exemptions to vaccination requirements with a negative COVID-19 test for entry to indoor locations such as restaurants, bars, gyms and fitness centers.

With these changes coming, the city warned, “The public should be mindful that people in some settings may not be fully vaccinated or boosted and so should use good judgment when attending gatherings or events.”

For a rundown of all the changes made to the health order visit the San Francisco Department of Public Health website.

These changes come as cases are on the decline. The city reported a seven-day average of 1,370 new cases on Jan 19, compared with 2,244 at the peak on Jan 8.

“As we come out of this latest surge and face a future in which COVID-19 will remain among us, San Francisco will take a balanced approach in our response to COVID-19 by aligning with state requirements and guidelines where we can do so safely ,” Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said in a statement. “We also acknowledge areas where we can be further ahead in easing restrictions, such as the indoor mask exemption for stable cohorts, given our highly vaccinated and boosted population. We will do so carefully and by following our local data and the science, as there are still San Franciscans who are medically vulnerable to the disease and communities that remain highly impacted when case rates are high.”

California issued a mandate requiring masks in indoor public spaces and workplaces on Dec. 15, 2021. It is in effect through Feb. 15, 2022.

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Last week, the public health departments in San Francisco and Marin counties announced changes to COVID-19 face mask requirements in indoor settings. On Friday, the softened mandates went into effect.

In both counties, an exemption allows people to remove their masks in some indoor settings where stable groups of fully vaccinated people gather. Think of these settings as places where the same group of people get together again and again, such as yoga classes or office settings.

Those places include offices, gyms, fitness centers, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings, college classes and other indoor gatherings, not exceeding 100 people.

The employer, or the host of the indoor gatherings, is required to control access and verify that everyone present is fully vaccinated. They must also ensure proper ventilation, no recent COVID-19 outbreaks, and that guests and children under 12 are not present, among other safety measures, the counties said.

The new exemption does not apply to public indoor settings such as retail stores, bars and restaurants or other places of businesses that are open to the public. People can continue to remove their masks temporarily in restaurants and bars to eat or drink.

San Francisco specifically noted that masks are still required in “shared indoor areas such as common areas of a building, [including] elevators, lobbies and restrooms, where people from different workplace settings could interact.”

— For more information on SF’s revised mandate, visit sfmayor.org.

— For more details on Marin’s softened mandate, visit marincounty.org.

When will SF and Marin and other Bay Area counties fully lift the indoor mask mandate?

Last week, San Francisco and Marin — along with six other Bay Area counties, including Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma and Napa — also presented three criteria for when mask mandates can be lifted entirely.

First, a county must reach the “moderate” (yellow) tier of case rates, as determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data tracker, and remain there for three weeks. Marin is the only county in the state in the yellow tier; it moved into this lower-risk position two days ago.

Second, the county’s health officer must determine that COVID-19 hospitalizations are “low and stable.”

Finally, 80% of a county’s total population must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or eight weeks after a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for children ages 5 to 11. As of Thursday, 75% of San Francisco’s population and 81% of Marin’s population is fully vaccinated.

Marin is the only county in the Bay Area that is close to meeting the criteria for lifting the mask mandate. “We want to see fewer people hospitalized with COVID-19 before lifting the mandate,” said Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s health director. “Last week, there were 15 total COVID-19 hospitalizations in Marin. So we set that as the metric — we’ll want to see less than 15 people in the hospital for COVID-19 before lifting the mandate.”

While Marin’s move into the yellow tier is promising, it needs to remain at that level for 21 consecutive days. “Three consecutive weeks in yellow will mean we’ve maintained fewer than 18 new cases per day on average,” Willis explained. “That’s among the lowest rates in the state, and California’s rates are the lowest in the nation. We’re in a good place to peel back restrictions. We’ve talked about following the science as we place new restrictions, and the local mask mandate helped control the fourth wave.As we moved out of lockdown in the past, we saw evidence that we can safely lift restrictions when conditions allow.With over 90 percent of our eligible community fully vaccinated, we’ve earned another margin of normalcy. “

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SAN FRANCISCO — California is exempting San Francisco from a rule that takes effect Wednesday requiring all people to wear masks indoors in a bid to contain a troubling rise in new coronavirus cases.

San Francisco will continue to allow fully vaccinated people to remove their masks in gyms and workplaces while its overall masking mandate remains in effect, the city Department of Public Health announced.

“It’s a recognition of all of the thought and care that San Francisco residents have been putting into staying as safe as possible,” said Dr. Susan Philip, San Francisco’s health officer.

About 86% of eligible San Francisco residents have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the public health department.

San Francisco businesses were relieved that the city can continue permitting fully vaccinated people to go maskless in some indoor locations.

“To have any disruption at all in the progress we’ve made over the last year and a half in getting customers back would have been devastating,” Dave Karraker, co-owner of MX3 Fitness and spokesman for the San Francisco Independent Fitness Studio Coalition , told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Several other San Francisco Bay Area counties also had relaxed masking rules for vaccinated people but it wasn’t immediately clear whether the state would exempt them, too.

California lifted its statewide mask mandate on June 15 for people who were vaccinated, a date that Gov. Gavin Newsom heralded as the state’s grand reopening.

But health officials are worried about the spread of the new omicron COVID-19 variant, which health officials believe can spread more easily than the original and delta strains. The virus is particularly hitting the unvaccinated.

The new mandate, which will remain in force until at least Jan. 15, also is aimed at reducing the COVID-19 risk when friends and families travel or gather indoors for the holidays.

However, officials haven’t specified how it will be enforced and have acknowledged that much will depend on voluntary public compliance.

After California lifted its statewide indoor mask mandates this summer, county governments covering about half of the state’s population imposed their own mandates as case rates surged with new variants.

The order comes as the statewide seven-day average rate of new coronavirus cases has jumped 47% since Thanksgiving and hospitalizations have risen by 14%, according to the state Department of Public Health.

That’s still far below a surge last winter — before vaccines were available — when the state averaged more than 100 cases per 100,000 people and nearly 20,000 people died during an eight-week period.

What’s worrying now is that even though more than 70% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated, some areas of the state still have low vaccination rates that put communities of greater risk for the coronavirus, according to the health department.

“Given the current hospital census, which is at or over capacity, even a moderate surge in cases and hospitalizations could materially impact California’s health care delivery system within certain regions of the state,” the department said.

California joins other states with similar indoor mask mandates, including Washington, Oregon, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii, and New York.

California also is tightening existing testing requirements by ordering unvaccinated people attending indoor events of 1,000 people or more to have a negative test within one or two days, depending on the type of test. The state also recommends travelers who visit or return to California to get tested within five days of their arrival.

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San Francisco students will soon be able to remove their masks on campus as San Francisco Unified School District and teachers’ union officials announced plans Friday to lift in-school mask requirements.

Mask requirements will be lifted for central district offices as well as middle and high schools in the city on March 12, when the state will also lift its indoor mask mandate for K-12 schools.

The district will then lift mask requirements at all other schools and worksites on April 2. At all district schools and worksites, the use of masks will still be recommended.

The district jointly announced the plan to lift its mask mandate with officials from labor unions representing its workers, including the United Administrators of San Francisco and the United Educators of San Francisco.

“We are committed to following public health guidance, and our health officials have stated that masks in schools are no longer required but still recommended,” SFUSD Superintendent Vincent Matthews said. “We are starting with middle and high schools, where there are higher vaccination rates, in order to give more time for families of younger students to get their children vaccinated.”

State officials announced Monday that mask requirements for students would be lifted March 11 at 11:59 pm but said individual school districts would have carte blanche to continue requiring the use of masks indoors.

SFUSD officials initially said the district would not change its masking policy on March 12, arguing that health officials still strongly recommended the use of masks and that masking is “one of the least burdensome” ways schools can reduce the virus’ spread.

On Friday, union officials said they supported the swift reversal, arguing that existing safety standards like regular testing and improved classroom ventilation will also help reduce the virus’ spread even if students are no longer required to wear a mask.

“With all of those multilayers of mitigation outlined in our ongoing health and safety agreement still in place, we support an ease in the mask mandate that still provides time for our youngest students to get vaccinated,” UESF president Cassondra Curiel said.

The district also announced that it will change its contact tracing policy for students, beginning March 24, allowing them to remain in class if they’ve been exposed to the virus unless they have or develop symptoms.

Students will also be required to test regularly after being exposed to determine if they contract the virus themselves.

According to the district, the policy will allow students to avoid missed school days, as previous policies required students exposed to the virus to stay home even if they did not show symptoms or test positive.

The district plans to distribute rapid COVID tests to students and staff during spring break, scheduled for the last week of March. Students and staff will be expected to use the tests prior to returning to school on April 4, regardless of if they are symptomatic.

“We recognize changes in masking and contact tracing practices will be a transition for our community,” Matthews said. “Throughout this pandemic we have had to constantly change but I trust we are moving in the right direction when we follow the science.”

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California will drop the mask requirement inside K-12 schools. The new indoor mask policy will take effect on March 12.

gov. Gavin Newsom announces the state will continue to adjust its policies based on the latest data and science. According to the California Department of Public Health, nearly 3% of all of the state’s COVID-19 tests in the past two months were positive.

“We cannot predict the future of the virus, but we are better prepared for it and will continue to take measures rooted in science to keep California moving forward,” Newsom said.

San Francisco Unified School District, however, will continue the indoor mask mandate for public schools.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highly recommends wearing masks inside schools by students and staff.

SFUSD’s press release states that masking is “one of the least burdensome policies on schools.”

“It helps prevent infections among students and staff and their families, and reduces missed school days,” San Francisco Unified School District Public Relations Manager Laura Dudnick said in an email.

San Francisco Board of Education President Gabriela López in an email said the district agrees to keep the “important safety tool” and will keep the mandate in place until the end of the school year.

Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, a teachers union, said that there is a need for students to have high quality masks since many elementary school students are not eligible for the booster vaccine. When asked if teachers prefer masks, Curiel said it’s more nuanced than a yes or no.

‘Do we all love wearing masks?’ said Curiel. “The answer’s probably no, it’s not a loved thing but it is a necessary thing.”

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SAN JOSE (CBS SF) — Santa Clara County health officials announced Tuesday that all their COVID benchmarks have been reached, allowing the county to lift its indoor COVID masking mandate on March 2.

“What we can expect with this pandemic is we will have peaks and valleys,” County public health director Dr. Sara Cody told reporters. “So right now, we are coming into a lovely valley. We can all really enjoy that.”

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Cody told reporters that the community spread of the virus has fallen significantly during the current lull to a level now safe enough for the county to finally join other Bay Area communities in lifting the mandate.

“We have met the metrics,” she said. “It’s a balance. At some point, we do need to transition from a requirement to a recommendation and in our county. We set metrics where we thought that was safe enough. It’s not completely safe, we still have community transmission of COVID, but we’ve reached a level where it feels safe enough to make the transition.”

She added that individual businesses can still require patrons to wear masks.

“Our trends are very strongly in a downward direction,” she told reporters. “The levels of community transmission have declined significantly over the last week and very significantly over the last two weeks. And the rate of decline continues to be fairly steep…All of our data is consistent, the level of community transmission in Santa Clara County is continuing to decrease.

READ MORE: Alameda Co. Health Officer To Issue Decision On Masking In Schools By End Of Week

When it applies to schools, Cody said the county discontinued local rules for schools and childcare settings in mid-2020 and has followed state guidance and rules since that time. County schools will now follow the state’s lead in lifting school mask requirements on March 11.

While the mandate will go away, Cody said she would encourage residents to continue to wear masks in crowded, public settings.

“While indoor masking in public spaces will no longer be required, it still makes sense to do,” she said. “Wearing a mask is part of working together to protect others, especially the most vulnerable among us.”

The three benchmarks Cody put in place were — a high vaccination rate, a decline in the hospitalization rate and dip below an average of 550 new cases a day for week.

On Tuesday, the 7-day average had fallen to 351 new cases and 244 county residents were hospitalized with COVID, less than half of the 533 residents that were hospitalized at the peak of the county’s winter surge in cases due to the omicron variant.

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In addition, 84.8 percent of county residents are vaccinated.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Officials with the San Francisco Unified School District announced Monday that masks will continue to be required indoors on campuses after the state drops the indoor mask mandate for schools next month, a decision that appears to be at odds with city health officials and Mayor London Breed’s office.

“No changes to SFUSD’s masking protocols are going into effect on March 11,” the district said in a statement. “Universal indoor masking will continue to be in effect at SFUSD as part of our layered approach to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our schools.”

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District officials also reiterated that face masks are not required outdoors.

State health officials announced Monday that face coverings inside schools would no longer be required, but “strongly recommended” starting March 12, regardless of vaccination status.

“The strong recommendation is something to reinforce, that we’re not just moving from required to optional but that there’s gradations here,” California health secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said at a briefing on Monday.

Counties and individual school districts continue to have the right to implement stricter requirements.

“As part of the updated guidance released today, public health officials are still recommending that masks be worn in schools. Health officials have stated that masking is one of the least burdensome policies on schools and is effective at curbing transmission,” SFUSD went on to say. “It helps prevent infections among students and staff and their families, and reduces missed school days.”

District officials said they are in regular contact with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to determine COVID-19 safety protocols and that they would confer with labor group representatives before making major changes.

Following the district’s announcement, Mayor London Breed said the city’s public health guidance would align with with the state, allowing for schools to drop the mask requirement on March 11.

San Francisco’s public health guidance will align with the new state guidance on masks, including no longer mandating masks in schools starting March 11. @SF_DPH will work closely with SFUSD and our school community to provide any guidance or assistance needed in the coming days. https://t.co/G52xzpkaYP

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) February 28, 2022

“[San Francisco Department of Public Health] will work closely with SFUSD and our school community to provide any guidance or assistance needed in the coming days,” the mayor tweeted Monday.

“As always, individual entities like school districts and businesses can choose to be more restrictive than the state and local guidelines and people can of course choose to still wear masks. I urge everyone to respect each other’s choices during this transition period,” Breed said in a subsequent tweet.

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Meanwhile, the San Francisco Department of Public Health issued their own statement explaining their decision to align with the state’s new guidance citing the city’s high vaccination rate, at 83% of all residents, including 69% of children ages 5 to 11.

“What enables us to align with the state in recommending but not requiring masking in school and child-care settings is the foundational work we have done as a San Francisco community to keep each other safe throughout this pandemic,” Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said. “Masks are still an important prevention tool for now and in the future, and we may need to rely on masks again if we see new surges in cases or new variants. For now, with case rates continuing to drop, this is a safe step in a direction toward fewer restrictions.”

Parents in San Francisco who spoke to KPIX 5 had mixed feelings about potential changes to mask rules.

“My kids will definitely continue to wear them in school,” said parent Latoya Pitcher.

Jennie Menke has a kindergartner, who’s taking speech therapy and wants the option to choose.

It’s hard, but I want my child to be able to breathe and to have it off, and his freedom and have his life come back to normal,” Menke said.

Across the bay in Oakland, school officials there said they were waiting for revised guidance from the Alameda County Public Health Department to issue its own guidance before making a decision. The guidance is expected to be released in the coming days.

Along with schools, California health officials announced that masks would no longer be required for the unvaccinated but strongly recommended for all people in most indoor settings as of Tuesday.

Mask requirements remain in place in “high transmission settings” including public transit, emergency shelters, health care settings, correctional facilities and long-term care facilities.

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Kenny Choi contributed to this report.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) — Schoolchildren in California, Oregon and Washington will no longer be required to wear masks as part of new indoor mask policies the Democratic governors of all three states announced jointly on Monday.

“With declining case rates and hospitalizations across the West, California, Oregon and Washington are moving together to update their masking guidance,” the governors said in a statement.

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The new guidance will make face coverings a recommendation rather than a requirement at most indoor places in California starting Tuesday and at schools on March 12, regardless of vaccination status. In Washington and Oregon, all the requirements will lift on March 12.

Federal mask requirements will still apply in high-risk indoor settings such as public transportation, airports and taxis. Rules for other high-risk indoor settings could also vary by state.

The milestone, two years in the making, comes as much of the country relaxes public health orders, including school mask mandates, in an effort to restore normalcy and boost economic recovery as Americans learn to live with the virus.

“California continues to adjust our policies based on the latest data and science, applying what we’ve learned over the past two years to guide our response to the pandemic,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement. “Masks are an effective tool to minimize spread of the virus and future variants, especially when transmission rates are high. We cannot predict the future of the virus, but we are better prepared for it and will continue to take measures rooted in science to keep California moving forward.”

“Two years ago today, we identified Oregon’s first case of COVID-19,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said in the statement. “On the West Coast our communities and economies are linked. Together, as we continue to recover from the Omicron surge, we will build resiliency and prepare for the next variant and the next pandemic.”

Earlier this month, California became the first state to formally shift to an endemic approach to the coronavirus with Newsom’s announcement of a plan that emphasizes prevention and quick reaction to outbreaks over mandated masking and business shutdowns.

Newsom has come under growing pressure from Republicans and other critics to ease the school mandate, which has increasingly become a polarizing issue among parents in California.

While many parents still support wearing masks in schools, others have questioned why it’s necessary when they no longer are required to do so in supermarkets and elsewhere. On Feb. 15 California ended an indoor mask requirement for vaccinated people, but at that time left the rule in place for the unvaccinated and for schoolchildren.

Starting Tuesday in California, masks will no longer be required but “strongly recommended” for unvaccinated individuals in most indoor settings. The same shift will apply to K-12 schools and childcare facilities starting March 12, the statement said.

A handful of California school districts have already dropped mask mandates for students in recent weeks in open defiance of the state mandate.

The West Coast announcements come after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased the federal mask guidance Friday, essentially saying the majority of Americans don’t need to wear masks in many indoor public places, including schools.

The new CDC guidance bases recommendations for restrictions such as masking on a new set of measures, with less focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals. Under the new system, the CDC said that more than 70% of Americans live in places where the coronavirus poses a low or medium threat to hospitals and therefore can stop wearing masks in most indoor places.

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The CDC had endorsed universal masking in schools regardless of virus levels in the community since July, but it now recommends masks in schools only in counties at high risk.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said health officials will announce new guidance for schools next week to give them time to prepare.

“Many businesses and families will continue choosing to wear masks,” he said. “As we transition to this next phase, we will continue to move forward together carefully and cautiously.”

Despite rising criticism from parents and some school administrators, Newsom had left the school mask requirements in place in California.

On Sunday, children and parents of “Mask Choice” rallied at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, holding signs demanding the end of mask requirements in schools.

“It’s seen as this force field. It’s been given too much credit. It’s time to get our kids back to normal,” said Laura Fagan.

“The California DPH has been the most conservative, the most restrictive of all the state departments of public health in the United States,” said UCSF infectious diseases expert Dr. Monica Ghandi.

“I think we’re all in pretty much agreement that it’s appropriate to take masks off for a lot of people. It’s really a question of is it now or will it be in a couple weeks?” said UC Berkeley infectious diseases expert Dr. John Schwartzberg.

Under new CDC recommendations, the majority of school districts in California’s 58 counties would be allowed to remove masks falling under “low or medium” levels of transmission.

Nearly every Bay Area county meets the criteria too, with the exception of Napa and Solano counties, which are still in the red.

“We are doing so much better than five and six weeks ago. The surge has come down dramatically,” Swartzberg said.

In the latest UC Berkeley/IGS poll, 61 percent still support mask mandates in schools. Thirty-seven percent disapprove, with the remaining undecided.

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“Of course, we’d like to have the masks off with kids but it’s not dangerous, having them on,” Swartzberg said.

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