The pandemic is over, but mask mandates are apparently not. Are masks now set to become a seasonal part of American life?

From The Epoch Times. Mask mandates will be returning to several counties in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, starting next month.

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The orders, which were handed down by individual counties, apply mainly to health care workers, although at least two Bay Area counties have extended the requirement to visitors and patients. …

Health officials in counties that have issued upcoming mask mandates said that the face coverings are designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory viruses …

Where the Mandates Are Going Into Effect

Alameda County, which encompasses the city of Oakland, issued an order last month that requires staff at health care facilities to wear masks between Nov. 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. …

It warned that any violation of the order’s provision in Alameda County “constitutes an imminent threat and menace to public health, constitutes a public nuisance, and is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both.”

The mandate only applies to staff, not patients or visitors.

Authorities in Contra Costa County issued a similar health order on Sept. 26, requiring health care staff to wear masks for the same time period with similar penalties. It also applies only to staff, not patients. …

Napa County issued an Oct. 1 health order that requires workers in health care facilities to wear masks. It doesn’t apply to visitors and patients.

Going a step further, Santa Clara County, which includes San Jose, will require all people inside health care facilities, including visitors and patients, to wear masks from Nov. 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. Exceptions will be made for children under age 2 and for people with medical issues that make it difficult for them to breathe in a mask or to remove a mask without assistance. …

Outside California

Aside from the Bay Area, it appears no other counties anywhere else in the United States will issue similar mandates at health care facilities.

However, if data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show cases of COVID-19 rising again, other areas may reintroduce mask mandates. Last winter, New York City reimposed a mask mandate at its hospitals as officials cited a rise in cases of the virus. …

How do you feel about these mandates? How are they spurring you to pray?

(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Photo Credit: engin akyurt on Unsplash)