STOCKTON, Calif. — COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in San Joaquin County.
And while nearby counties like Sacramento and Yolo have mandated mask wearing, San Joaquin County is an outlier, only recommending masking indoors.
A spokesperson for San Joaquin County told ABC10 earlier in the week they are monitoring their numbers and following what the state is doing. On Tuesday, July 27, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer Dr. Maggie Park told the county's board of supervisors the county is spiking again.
"We’ve started to go on that upswing. We’re in another wave. How bad the wave will be, I don’t know. The state’s model says it could be as bad as last summer, [but] I’m hoping not," Park told the board of supervisors.
Don King, owner of Fat City Brew and BBQ in Stockton, reacted to the Sacramento and Yolo mask mandates and said he won’t make anyone mask up, no matter what.
“I think people can form their own idea on that. If it happens here, I personally will not follow it,” King said.
He said people need to take responsibility for themselves.
“All my workers, they can wear it, or not wear it. It’s 100% up to them. Just like it’s up to the customers 100% whether they want to come into a place that does not or does have masks on,” King said, who went on to add he has faith in business owners to do what’s right for their business. “When a business has a thing that says do not come in if you don’t have a mask, I’ll put it on to respect that business. It’s just, here, I’m not going to do that.”
Just a few blocks away on the Miracle Mile in Stockton, Nita Pasley, owner of Sweet Life Boutique, which just opened one month ago, said she never thought she’d have to be once again thinking about a mask mandate.
“I thought with vaccinations coming out, that hopefully enough people would get vaccinated, that we could kind of be on the down slope of this," Pasley said. But, you know, if we’re here, we’re here. I guess it’s just part of the process."
She explained her perspective is colored by a vulnerable employee who can’t be vaccinated.
“I will mandate it inside my store. I will make sure that anybody coming in, use sanitize, put a mask on, please. And as long as we need to, that’s what’s going to happen,” Palsey said.
Stockton resident Deonicio Wright Jr. said he didn’t realize there was not a mask mandate.
“I thought San Joaquin County had made it mandatory that you mask up,” Wright admitted.
He said he believes masking is up to the discretion of the individual.
“For my wife and myself, if we go into crowded places, we put our masks on,” Wright said.
And Wright knows how real COVID-19 is, having just lost an uncle who also lived in San Joaquin County to the virus a few days ago.
“Please do not take this thing lightly," Wright said. "Do not wait till it hits home. Please, wear your mask, mask up. Even if it’s not mandatory yet, prepare yourself because eventually, it is going to be mandatory in San Joaquin County. Everyone is going to follow suit."
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