San Francisco eases indoor mask mandate again starting Feb. 1

San Francisco is doing away again with some face mask requirements in indoor settings as Covid-19 cases decline, public health officials said Thursday.

Starting Feb. 1, patrons at indoor gyms, office workers and other “stable cohorts” of people may remove their masks once again as long as everyone has completed their initial vaccine series and received a booster dose, if eligible.

The City had previously eased mask requirements in October last year but reverted in late December as cases began to surge due to the omicron variant. This time though, people will need to be “up to date on vaccinations,” meaning they must also have received a booster shot under the revised health order.

The City’s Public Health Officer Susan Philip said in a statement:

As we come out of this latest surge and face a future in which Covid-19 will remain among us, San Francisco will take a balanced approach in our response to Covid-19 by aligning with state requirements and guidelines where we can do so safely.”

Philip added:

We also acknowledge areas where San Francisco can be further ahead in easing restrictions, such as the indoor mask exemption for stable cohorts, given our highly vaccinated and boosted population.”

Data from the Department of Public Health shows that 82 percent of all residents in The City have completed a vaccine series and 63 percent of all residents have received a booster as of Wednesday.

Other indoor settings, such as religious gatherings and indoor classes, will also be exempted from having people wearing a face mask as long as everyone is up to date on their vaccinations.

The City’s indoor mask mandate remains in effect for most public settings, regardless of a person’s vaccination status.

In addition to easing the mask requirements on Tuesday, people will be allowed to enter indoor “mega events” of at least 500 people by showing a negative Covid-19 test if they are not up to date with their vaccinations.

The City will also allow people with medical or religious exemptions to enter businesses, such as restaurants and bars, as long as they present a negative Covid-19 test taken within a specific timeframe and wear a mask.

For these indoor businesses and mega events, people can take a rapid antigen test within a day before entry or take a PCR test within two days before entry, officials said. The City points to the California Department of Public Health’s’ guidelines as what can be considered as proof of a negative test before entry to businesses that have the requirement, including a printed test result from the test provider or laboratory and an electronic test result displayed on a phone with the result.

The City is also extending its deadline for employees to get a booster shot who work in high-risk settings. The previous deadline was Feb. 1 but it has now been extended to March 1.

San Francisco’s seven-day average of new cases per day is 1,370, which is lower than the record set earlier this month at 2,244 cases per day.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.