Marin County is aligned with CDPH masking guidance. Effective March 12, 2022:
- Masks will be strongly recommended to be worn by all staff and students while indoors, regardless of vaccination status, but will no longer be required. Face coverings will remain optional outdoors as the risk of transmission is low in most outdoor settings.
- Note: Schools and districts may choose to enforce stricter masking standards by continuing to require masks indoors.
For more detailed information, visit MCOE's Rethinking Schools website or our Schools page.
Presently, there is no local masking mandate in Marin County, however, California masking requirements remain in effect. Learn more about the Guidance for the Use of Face Masks in California by visiting the California Department of Public Health's webpage.
Guidance Based on Setting
Everyone is required to wear a mask in the following indoor public spaces, regardless of their vaccination status:
- Health care settings
- Long-term care facilities
- Homeless shelters
- Emergency cooling / heating centers
- State and local correctional facilities and detention centers
Read Get the Most out of Masking to learn how a mask can best protect you.
It depends on the setting.
There are certain public indoor settings where masks are required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status:
- Health Care Settings
- Long-term care facilities
- Homeless shelters
- State and local correctional facilities and detention centers
In indoor public spaces not listed above, masking requirements may vary.
- Businesses may choose to enforce their own policy regarding the universal use of face coverings for all visitors. In those situations, you will need to wear a mask.
- Businesses may choose to not enforce any mask use. In those situations, its strongly recommended that you continue wearing a mask but doing so is ultimately your choice.
For outdoor public settings, masks are not required but are strongly encouraged if the setting is crowded.
Visit the California Department of Public Health's webpage to see the state's current masking requirements.
Presently, there is no local masking mandate in Marin County, however California masking requirements remain in effect. Both Marin County Public Health and California Department of Public Health strongly encourage the use of masks indoors, especially for our residents who are more vulnerable to infection or more at risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19.
In settings where masks are strongly recommended, businesses, venue operators, or hosts may:
- Provide information to all patrons, guests, and attendees regarding masking recommendations for all persons, independent of their vaccination status.
- Provide information to all patrons, guests and attendees to consider better fit and filtration for masks. Surgical masks or higher-level respirators (e.g., N95s, KN95s, KF94s) with good fit are recommended over cloth masks].
- Require all patrons to wear masks, especially when risk in the community may be high, or if those being served are at high risk for severe disease or illness.
- Require every attendee who does not provide proof of vaccination upon entering indoor Mega Events to continue masking during the event, especially when not actively eating or drinking.
No person can be prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a business.
Visit the CDPH Guidance for Face Coverings webpage for additional information.
Presently, there is no local masking mandate in Marin County, however California masking guidelines remain in effect. Both Marin County Public Health and California Department of Public Health strongly encourage the use of masks indoors, especially for our residents who are more vulnerable to infection or more at risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19. Businesses, however, may elect to implement indoor face covering policies that are stricter than current CDPH masking guidelines (e.g., requiring all patrons and employees to wear a mask).
In some settings, masks are required for all, regardless of vaccination status. Visit the Guidance for the Use of Face Masks page from the California Department of Public Health to see where everyone must wear a mask.
There are exemptions to wearing a face covering for indoor public spaces. The State Face Covering Guidance exempts the following individuals from wearing masks:
- Children under two years old, due to the risk of suffocation.
- People with:
- A medical condition,
- A Mental health condition, or
- A disability that prevents wearing a mask. This includes:
- Those for whom a mask could obstruct breathing
- Who are unconscious or incapacitated
- Unable to remove a mask without assistance
- People for whom seeing the mouth is essential for communication:
- Hearing impaired, or
- Those communicating with a person who is hearing impaired.
- People for whom wearing a mask would create a risk as they work, as determined by:
- Local, state, or federal regulators, or
- Workplace safety guidelines.
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See complete mask exemptions details at CDPH’s Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings.
Employees or customers witnessing a local business abusing the exemptions listed on this page are encouraged to report the violation to the appropriate local authority.
Music and the performing arts are crucial elements to our community’s pandemic recovery. They strengthen the sense of belonging and connection. They also increase the risk of COVID transmission from increased exhalation of respiratory fluids, especially when indoors.
Marin County Public Health recommends using masks when singing indoors. Performers should use the most protective mask that fits well and will be worn consistently. Properly fitted respirators (e.g., KN95 or N95) provide the highest level of protection. Individuals using instruments indoors that cannot be played with a mask (e.g., wind instruments) should use bell coverings and maintain a minimum of 3 feet of physical distancing between participants.
Yes. Presently, there is no local masking mandate in Marin County, however California masking guidelines remain in effect. California's recommendation is that all people continue wearing masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
Businesses may choose to require masks be worn in indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status. If a restaurant asks you to keep your mask on while you are waiting for your food to arrive, or after you have finished your meal, please comply.
You can remove your mask to address basic biological necessities like eating and drinking, but you should replace your mask as soon as possible if you have to remove it. Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer both before and after handling your face covering.
IN SCHOOL SETTINGS:
(Effective March 12, 2022) No. Unless a school or school district opts to enforce stricter masking guidelines, although it is still strongly recommended, it is no longer required that staff and students wear face coverings in indoor K-12 settings. Masks are optional outdoors and, in general, people do not need to wear masks when outdoors (e.g., participating in outdoor play, recess, and physical education activities).
Universal masking indoors in K-12 schools is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and by the CDC in their Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 schools. Staff and students should follow CDC and CDPH face covering guidance.
INDOOR SETTINGS:
According to current CDPH face covering guidance, there are specific settings where everyone is required to wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status:
- Emergency shelters, including heating and cooling centers
- Healthcare settings, including long-term care settings and adult & senior care facilities
- State & local correctional facilities and detention centers
- Homeless shelters
NON-SCHOOL OUTDOOR SETTINGS:
In general, unvaccinated children and youth do not need to wear a mask outdoors, even if they cannot maintain physical distancing.
Presently, there is no local masking mandate in Marin County, however California masking requirements remain in effect. Businesses may elect to implement indoor face covering policies that are stricter than current CDPH masking guidelines (e.g., requiring all patrons and employees to wear a mask).
A store can prohibit you from entering their business if you are not wearing a face covering in accordance with their own masking policy. However, if you have a medical condition or disability that prevents you from safely wearing a face covering, then you should speak with a store manager or employee about a reasonable accommodation to help you obtain the services you need without endangering your health or the health of the other customers.
If you are at a restaurant where food or drink is served AND there is a universal masking policy, you may remove your mask to address basic biological needs like eating or drinking, but you should replace your mask as soon as possible if you have to remove it.
Both Marin County Public Health and California Department of Public Health strongly encourage the use of masks indoors, especially for our residents who are more vulnerable to infection or more at risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19.
The CDC and CDPH have updated their guidance around masks with valves according to whether or not they are NIOSH-approved.
If the mask in question is a NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) with an exhalation valve, it will offer the same level of protection to the wearer as one that does not have a valve. Additionally, findings from NIOSH research indicate that FFRs "can also reduce particle emissions to levels similar to or better than those provided by surgical masks, procedure masks, or cloth face coverings."
To find out if your mask is NIOSH-approved, check the NIOSH approval number and approval label. The NIOSH approval label can be found on or within the packaging of the respirator or sometimes on the respirator itself. The required labeling of NIOSH-Approved N95 filtering facepiece respirators includes the NIOSH name, the approval number, filter designations, lot number, and model number to be printed on the respirator. You can verify that your respirator approvals are valid by checking the NIOSH Certified Equipment List (CEL).
Read Get the Most out of Masking to learn how a mask can best protect you.