Two East Bay counties have each issued a new health order requiring staff in skilled nursing facilities to continue wearing masks to protect elderly patients from being infected with COVID-19.
In a Monday announcement, Contra Costa Health Services and Alameda County Health Care Services Agency said the orders will take effect April 3, the same day the state’s COVID-19 masking order for healthcare settings expires.
As of April 3, face coverings are no longer required in California health care establishments, such as dental offices, for patients, visitors and employees who do not need to perform clinical activities. Residents of nursing homes and their visitors are not required to wear masks, according to the Alameda and Contra Costa health orders.
The guidance was given in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom ending the State of Emergency for the pandemic last month.
In issuing this measure, Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss said, “We are being prudent when it comes to our skilled nursing facilities because they are populated with mostly senior citizens and individuals who have multiple medical issues. This population has experienced some of the most extreme effects of the pandemic, including fatalities.”
Of the more than 2,400 Alameda County residents who have died as a result of the virus, approximately 29 percent as of January were living in skilled nursing facilities, the county health agency said in a news release. Also, nearly one third of nursing home residents have not yet received the latest bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccination, according to data from 55 of the county’s 66 skilled nursing facilities.
In Contra Costa County, since the onset of the pandemic, more than half of the COVID-related deaths in the county have been among people over the age of 75.
According to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, between January 2020 and the present there have been a total of 2,754 cases and 192 fatalities linked to the virus in 26 skilled nursing facilities, or SNFs, in Contra Costa County. Dr. Ori Tzvieli, the county’s health officer, said that their experience during the pandemic has shown that seniors who are already afflicted with pre-existing health issues are the ones most vulnerable to the detrimental consequences of being infected with COVID.
“Requiring personnel at SNFs to use well-fitted masks can help protect the elderly population, who are more vulnerable to severe COVID outcomes, from being infected,” Tzvieli, who issued the order, said in a statement.
There are 30 skilled nursing facilities in Contra Costa, which provide a higher level of medical care than other long-term care settings. However, the order will not apply to assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, or board-and-care homes, although masking is still highly recommended, the news release says.
Hospitals and outpatient healthcare clinics in both counties will not be subject to the new county order. Still, local health systems can choose to enforce their own masking policies. Tzvieli said hospitals have robust infection-control policies and personnel and can determine if and when masking is required.
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