Alameda County Health Care Services Public Health Department

Wear a Mask to Add Protection

Consider your risk and your household members’ risk for severe disease when making decisions about masking.

Alameda County is aligned with state masking guidance.

COVID-19 continues to circulate in our communities. COVID-19 poses the greatest risk for severe disease to those over 65 years of age and persons with certain health issues, including pregnancy. But, anyone who gets COVID-19 can develop long COVID.

When people wear a mask correctly, they protect others as well as themselves. Some people should not wear a mask, such as children younger than 2 and people with certain medical conditions or disabilities.

Mask Season is Now! (PDF):

Masking Requirements

Some employers are subject to the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) Standard and should consult those regulations for applicable masking requirements.

Masking Recommendations

You can choose to wear a mask, especially if you answer yes to any of the following:

Are you over age 65 or have health issues that puts you at risk for a severe case of COVID-19?
Are you missing your most recent recommended COVID-19 vaccine dose?
Do you live/visit with people at risk of going to the hospital if they get COVID-19?
Do you go to work or interact with the public regularly?
Do you feel safer with a mask?

More information about when to wear a mask and how to choose the right one can be found on the CDPH website: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Respiratory-Viruses/When-and-Why-to-Wear-a-Mask.aspx

Resources

When and Why to Wear a Mask (CDPH)
Guidance for N95 Respirators (CDC)
Masks Required for Entry Posters: English | Arabic | Burmese | Dari | Farsi | Hindi | Khmer | Korean | Mongolian | Pashto | Punjabi | Spanish | Tagalog | Tigrinya | Traditional Chinese | Vietnamese