Coronavirus in rural America (Part CLXXVI): Nonmetro California county one of last to drop mask mandates

Between Boonville and Philo, 
Anderson Valley Grange, California 

I'm spending this weekend in Mendocino County, California, and, on the way here, I learned from my local NPR station that Mendocino is one of three California counties keeping its mask mandate in place.  That is, it's doing so even though the state wide mandate has finally been dropped.  I was surprised to hear this because Mendocino County, with a population of about 91,000 spread over a land area of about 3,800 square miles, is one of the Golden State's least densely populated counties.  It's not the type of place one expects to be one of the last to hold onto a mask mandate, especially given how controversial these mandates have been in this part of California, the full third of the state's land area lying between Sacramento and the Oregon state line.  The other two counties retaining mask mandates are decidedly, predictably urban. 

I've not been able to find a transcript of the radio segment on Capital Public radio, but the public health official noted that the reason Mendocino County is keeping its mask mandate is because of a relative shortage of hospital beds.  Then I found this related information in a county press release from February 10, 2022:

While Mendocino County appears to be recovering from the Omicron surge based on a decrease in reported cases from PCR testing, this data is believed to be an undercount because it does not include all positive antigen test results. The County also continues to be an area of highest risk, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), with “High Community Transmission.”

Furthermore, the County’s COVID-19 hospitalization and ICU rates are still higher than they were during the Delta surge. Since February 1, Mendocino County has had less than 10% ICU capacity. On some days, there are 0 or 1 ICU beds available, compared to California overall, which currently has 18-20% ICU capacity. This adds stress for local hospitals and their staff and delays other medical procedures.

“We will continue to assess the COVID-19 situation as it evolves and will reevaluate the need for continued universal masking orders on March 15, 2022, based on community transmission and burden to the local hospital system. For now, continued masking will protect our residents as we are still at the highest CDC risk level,” explained Dr. Coren.

The official interviewed for the Capital Public Radio story mentioned that people on the coast are supportive of the mask mandate--those are mostly tourists and those serving tourists.  Inland folks, however, don't support the mask mandate.  Their jobs are far less likely to be oriented to tourists; they tend to be more traditionally rural, and with that comes an antipathy to government regulation.

I have noticed here in Mendocino County that there is uniform signage (like photo above; saw same signs at wineries) every where I look, and I've been impressed at the extent to which folks are compliant with the mandate--whether inland or coastal.  

At Lichen Estate Winery, between
Boonville and Philo

At Lichen Estate Winery, between 
Boonville and Philo