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San Francisco Bay Area to drop some indoor mask mandates

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Eric Risberg/AP
In this Aug. 20, 2021, file photo, host Jason Pryor, right, checks the vaccination and identification cards of diners as they enter the Waterbar restaurant in San Francisco. Indoor masking requirements in the San Francisco Bay Area will be eased for certain indoor public settings, including offices, gyms, college classrooms and churches, once counties reach low COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates and at least 80% of the total population is fully vaccinated, officials announced Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021.
Virus Outbreak Bay Area Masks
Posted at 1:57 PM, Oct 07, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-07 16:57:11-04

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area will start easing their requirements for people to wear masks inside many public spaces.

A group of eight counties in the region said Thursday that the rules will be dropped when vaccination rates are above 80% and COVID-19 transmission rates and hospitalizations are low. In San Francisco, where places like gyms and offices already require people to show proof of vaccination, some will be allowed to drop masks next week.

The Bay Area has among the highest vaccination rates and lowest case rates in the nation. Counties had reinstated the indoor mask mandate in August as infections surged because of the highly contagious delta variant.

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