COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rapidly falling in California to the point where health officials are getting close to ditching the state’s mask mandate in schools. But the state’s top health official said he’s not ready to pull the trigger just yet, though he “anticipates” being able to announce in two weeks a likely end date.
“Masking requirements were never put in place to be there forever,” Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said. “It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when.”
Ghaly said that cases, hospitalizations, vaccination rates and national and global trends would all play a role over the next two weeks as the state reassesses conditions. On Feb. 28, Ghaly said he plans to announce when the mandate would move to “a strong recommendation.”
