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Oakland mask requirement extended through June

Oakland City Hall
Daniel Ramirez
/
Flickr / Creative Common
Oakland City Hall

The council voted 5-1, with two council members absent from the vote, to extend the mask mandate in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.

The requirement applies to all employees, patrons and visitors age six-years-and-up at indoor city-owned facilities and within 20 feet of a city-owned area that is accessible to the general public, but is not walled off.

Council member Rebecca Kaplan, who proposed the extension, said, "The science has been very clear that wearing quality masks is a very effective way to reduce the risks (of transmission) both to the wearer and to those they are around.”

She added that the measure would “make our facilities more accessible to people with disabilities and people with other vulnerabilities that make them really at risk from these respiratory viruses."

City Councilman Noel Gallo was the only dissenting vote, arguing that the city should follow the lead of the state and the county, which have dropped general indoor mask requirements.

The council will decide later this year whether to extend the requirement beyond July 1st.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.