SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending people mask up indoors in several counties in the Greater Sacramento area.
People in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Solano, and Yolo counties are recommended to wear masks indoors because these counties are deemed to be at a "high" level in the CDC's metrics.
The CDC has three COVID-19 community levels including low, medium, and high that are determined by the number of cases, hospital beds being used and people admitted to the hospital.
The Sacramento City Unified School District announced Thursday that since the county is in the "high" category, it triggers an "automatic return" to universal masking for students and staff.
"This is unfortunate in that we had hoped not to have to do this again, but we are following the science, we're following the data," said Sacramento Unified School District Superintendent Jorge Aguilar.
In Stanislaus County, the community COVID level remains in the "low" category.
In San Joaquin County, it's categorized as "medium."
"We're seeing cases rising across the state. And, this is consistent with the model we've been predicting," says Daniel Kim with San Joaquin County Public Health Services.
He says as it gets hotter, more people will gather inside increasing the risk of spreading COVID-19.
But, people will also gather outside during the summer months, too.
More than 75% of Californians over the age of five are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Vaccination greatly lowers the risk of severe infection or hospitalization for those who have received one.
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Coronavirus Resources
View the COVID-19 Community Levels HERE.
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