Ventura County Issues Mask Mandate

Ventura County Public Health has issued a health order requiring individuals to wear face coverings while indoors in public settings, regardless of vaccination status.The order, which has limited exceptions, took effect at midnight on Friday. Businesses and other public entities will have until midnight on Monday to comply with the new health order.“As of today, we reached a rate of 28 cases per 100,000, a 40 percent increase. I hope that this order will increase mask usage in Ventura County,” Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin said in a statement. “I expect that this will have a beneficial effect on the increase in COVID-19 infections we are seeing.”According to Ventura County Public Health, the increased levels of community transmission have been in part due to the COVID-19 Delta variant, which is more transmissible than previous forms of COVID-19.“Masking indoors must again become a normal practice by all, regardless of vaccination status, so that we can stop the trends and level of transmission we are currently seeing,” Levin said in a statement before urging all eligible individuals to get vaccinated.The order will be in effect until Sept. 19, or until it is extended, rescinded, superseded or amended.