SF Mask Mandate Comes Off June 15, But Some Still Covered In Anxiety

Image: @anginakyurt via Unsplash

Seeing unmasked people feels like a victory to me every time I pass them on the street. But I still keep my mask on, out of some nebulous combined sense of concern for others who may be immunocompromised,  and a feeling that ‘Hey, this is probably all going to end on June 15, so I’ll keep it on ’til then unless the city and state change their minds.’

San Francisco will align with the State's reopening plan on Tuesday, June 15th, and remove nearly all local COVID-19 restrictions, including capacity limits, physical distancing, and masking requirements.

San Francisco will be fully reopen. https://t.co/SLP6LdTvLo

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) June 9, 2021

They are officially not changing their minds. The city just sent out a press release saying that the San Francisco mask mandate will end June 15. New health orders will go into effect Tuesday that include “the elimination of local capacity limits as well as local requirements for physical distancing, masking, and operational procedures and protocols in almost all instances.”

Is anyone else still processing that next week – on Tuesday, June 15 – we will all just suddenly walk out of our homes and into stores and bars and restaurants and salons with ~ no masks on ~ and no capacity limits. It's wonderful and also extremely unnatural feeling and bizarre.

— Sophie Bearman (@stbearman) June 9, 2021

“On June 15, we will be taking an incredible step forward by aligning our reopening with the state,” Mayor London Breed said in the press release. “I’m excited that the City is coming alive again and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for San Francisco. Please continue to do your part to make sure that you and everyone you know—friends, families, neighbors—are getting vaccinated so we can finally end this pandemic.”

I'm not quite ready to take off my mask in public, but it's nice to see the city bursting with (night) life. #valenciastreetsf #sanfrancisco #themissionsf pic.twitter.com/Dg06InwFmC

— Sara Bloomberg (@BloomReports) June 6, 2021

It’s more than just the masks. Dance clubs can be completely jam-packed indoors again, we won’t need to six-foot-distance ourselves in stores anymore, and strangers can make out and dryhump again with impunity. (Masks will still be required at indoor events with mo/re than 5,000 people.) But honestly… are we really ready for this?

California's Mask Mandate Ends June 15. Here's Why Some Fully Vaccinated People Will Keep Wearing Them https://t.co/nDGswBHwyc

— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez (@FitzTheReporter) June 9, 2021

Many people are not ready for this, and that’s OK. KQED reports on why some people will keep wearing their masks. Some say they’ll do so out of habit, others will do so out of concern for unvaccinated kids under 12 or those who have other health conditions, and some point out the very legitimate argument that there’s no way to tell if the people around you have or have not been vaccinated.

“#SanFrancisco has this long history of being open-minded & integrating academics & public health with its community & politics,” UCSF's Dr. @PCH_SF told @guardian. “Northern Calif. has been very pro-vaccine & mask wearing has been popular here as well.” https://t.co/pW7hAgB9nK

— UCSF Health (@UCSFHospitals) June 9, 2021

And that last one is the big problem. Though San Francisco may be the first major U.S. city to achieve herd immunity, you have to wonder if unvaccinated moron tourists will show up in drpves and fuck it all up.