In Israel, the mandate for outdoor masks was lifted over the weekend. And recent columns in Slate and The Atlantic ask if it’s time to do the same here in the US
So, is it?
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Local Bay Area health experts are clashing.
“No, no, absolutely not,” said Dr. George Rutherford, UCSF’s infectious disease expert, told ABC7 News that he was lifting California’s mandate for outdoor masks.
‘At this time, when we still have a lot of people who have not been vaccinated and still have 2,500 cases a day in California, new cases per day in California, it seems to me a sensible thing to continue. ‘
Dr Rutherford said he believes even Israel, where more than 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated, may have lifted their mandate prematurely. In California, 32% of people are fully vaccinated.
But dr. Monica Gandhi, also a specialist in infectious diseases at UCSF, had a different perspective. She told ABC7 News that she does think it’s time to reconsider the mandate for outdoor masking, given the low transfer rates for outdoor activities.
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“There is a lot of data, especially over the last six months, that shows us that the risk of transmission outdoors is very low,” said Dr. Gandhi said. “In fact, there was a study from Ireland and a study from China, which looked at about 1 in every 1,000 transfers taking place outside, as opposed to indoors where we know there are more drops and more transfers.”
“So, in this environment of declining cases and confidence in the vaccine, I think it’s time to lift outdoor mask mandates,” she added.
ABC7 News, medical associate, dr. Alok Patel, said he did not believe the mask mandate should be lifted altogether, but said he agreed it was time to reevaluate it.
‘Add at least some transparency, and maybe it’s a point for people out there to say’ hey, if we reach a certain number, then take off your mask when you’m out ‘, because there is a little contradiction, ‘Doctor said.
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‘You can go to an outdoor restaurant, sit on a patio and possibly be around eight other tables of people not wearing masks … but then you can be on the Embarcadero and there is still a requirement to’ to wear a mask. “
A California Department of Public Health spokesman did not say whether the state is considering lifting the mandate for outdoor masks, but suggested that changes are unlikely to be made until the state at least June 15. reopen.
Dr. Rutherford believes this is the best.
“I think if we are in the 60% of people who are fully vaccinated, we can consider it,” he said. “But we will have to see how it goes over the next few months with the huge pressure to reopen on June 15.”
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