Ventura County extends indoor mask mandate due to COVID-19 surge

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - The Ventura County Public Health Department extended its indoor mask mandate on Friday, requiring both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals to wear face coverings while indoors in public settings.

The health order is set to be in effect until Oct. 19, 2021, or until it is extended, rescinded, superseded or amended by the health officer.

The purpose of the order is to reduce the community transmission of COVID-19.

Local health officials said they are concerned by the substantial levels of increased community transmission, especially among unvaccinated people.

“Our current case rate of 19.3 is still considered widespread community transmission by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health,” said Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin. “We need to see a continued decrease in the case rate and hospitalizations before safely lifting indoor masking requirements to help prevent future surges.”

This order requires face coverings to be worn over the mouth and nose at all indoor public settings including venues, gatherings and workplaces as well as offices, retail stores, restaurants, bars, theaters and government offices serving the public.

Due to this, individuals, businesses, venue operators, hosts and others responsible for the operation of an indoor public setting must:

• Require all patrons to wear face coverings for all indoor settings, regardless of their vaccination status; and
• Post clearly visible and easy-to-read signage at all entry points for indoor settings to communicate the masking requirements to all patrons. Free signage can be found at www.vcrecovers.org.

For more information about COVID-19 in Ventura County, visit www.venturacountyrecovers.org.