As positivity rates decline in the Golden State, effective March 12, 2022, California’s Public Health Department no longer requires the use of masks indoors in schools or childcare settings and Los Angeles County followed suit.

Masks are strongly recommended in these and other indoor public settings and continue to be required for:  

• Public transit and in stations, terminals, and airports
• Healthcare settings
• Emergency shelters, homeless shelters, cooling and heating centers
• Correctional facilities and detention centers
• Long-term care settings and adult and senior care facilities

As we have previously commented, employers that wish to maintain masking requirements will likely be under pressure to eliminate masks in the workplace.  

Recent media reports about a new variant “Deltacron” that was detected in France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and more recently in the U.S., may give some employers pause before making major changes to current masking and social distancing rules that have been implemented.