Guests of restaurants in California will be required starting Wednesday to wear a facemask regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination or testing status if they wish to dine indoors, the state’s Health and Human Services Agency announced late Monday.
The requirement also applies to restaurant employees, the agency said. It is scheduled to run through Jan. 15.
Health officials said the mandate is intended to flatten a still-climbing spike in coronavirus infections within the state. They also expressed fears that the surge, generally tied to the delta variant of coronavirus, could be intensified by the new omicron strain. Scientists say they suspect the omicron virus is more transmissible because of the way it has mutated.
With the move, California joins the sudden parade of jurisdictions that are imposing new safety protocols in hope of tempering a wintertime surge in new COVID cases. New coronavirus infections have soared by 47% daily on average over a one-week stretch, and hospitalizations have jumped 14%.
“Even a moderate surge in cases and hospitalizations could materially impact California's health care delivery system within certain regions of the state,” Health and Human Services said in announcing the new mandate.
Simultaneous with the California’s move, Philadelphia announced that it will require restaurant customers to be vaccinated against COVID if they wish to dine inside an establishment after Jan. 3. Their only other option will be to provide proof they tested negative for the ailment within the prior 24 hours. That loophole will be closed on Jan. 17.
Meanwhile, New York imposed a mandate Monday that restaurants within the state require guests either to show proof they’ve been vaccinated against COVID or wear a facemask when not eating or drinking.
California has more restaurants than any other state. During the nationwide COVID surge of a year ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom reimposed a number of safety protocols on the industry, including a new round of capacity caps, as the case count soared.
Those steps also included a mandate that all indoor customers of businesses open to the public be required to wear masks. That mandate was lifted by the governor about four months ago.
Two of its largest cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco, have imposed a vaccination requirement for dine-in restaurant guests.
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