Sacramento schools reinstate mask mandate amid COVID surge

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento City Unified School District suggested that students resume wearing masks Friday as a soft start to a reinstated indoor masking mandate that takes effect on Monday amid a rising tide of COVID-19 in California.

The district announced the move Thursday when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved Sacramento County into the “high” level of community transmission.

Across the bay from San Francisco, Alameda County on Thursday became the first California county to reinstate indoor masking requirements, and last month UCLA and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo were among schools returning to masking requirements.

Los Angeles County is in the “medium” tier of community transmission but could reach the highest level by the end of the month, increasing stress on the health care system, according to Barbara Ferrer, the public health director.