Confused? You're not alone!
In a sudden, surprise move that's left thousands of residents uncertain of how to show their faces, California is now exempting San Francisco and a handful of other Bay Area counties from having to follow several requirements of its new statewide indoor mask mandate that started Wednesday.
San Francisco residents can still remove their masks in gyms, workplaces and classes and at religious gatherings if everyone in those settings is vaccinated, the city's Department of Public Health announced just hours before the mandate took effect.
In many instances, office workers spent the morning with masks on — unaware of the exemption — only to show their faces in the afternoon, once the news had circulated.
Similar exemptions also apply to Alameda, Contra Costa, Sonoma and Marin counties — all of which have their own mask mandates.
“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 city's public health department.
In Contra Costa County, 81.1% of eligible residents are fully vaccinated. County health officials pointed out Wednesday morning that these numbers are higher than the state's average and that the county would keep in place its own mask mandate, which allows for some exceptions.
“The limited exceptions we made are for very low-risk scenarios where everyone is vaccinated,” said county health officer Dr. Chris Farnitano in a statement. “Our community already understands and is following these rules and it would be confusing to change them for just one month.”
Gym owners in the five select counties were relieved that fully vaccinated customers can continue going maskless in select indoor locations.
"Everybody was very upset because we have worked so hard in San Francisco to knock this thing down. And to have the state come back and say, 'You know what, because of San Joaquin Valley and because of Orange County, we're going to penalize you,'" said Dave Karraker, co-owner of MX3 Fitness gym.
Requiring patrons to wear masks at the gym through the start of January could make it harder to encourage potential customers to fulfill a New Year's fitness resolution.
"That can be up to 25% of the gym's annual revenue that shows up in the first two months of the year," he said. "It was just one more punch in the gut after two really, really hard years for any small business."
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.