California cities - and some stores - now requiring face masks during the coronavirus crisis

In a sudden reversal, health officials around California are now telling people to wear masks in public - and in some cases mandating that usage - just a week after some expressed doubts about the value of masks in reducing the spread of the coronavirus.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced businesses and stores in his city can now refuse customers who are not wearing masks. In Riverside County, health officials went a step farther, declaring that everyone should wear facial coverings when in public.

In the Sacramento-area, Nugget Markets will require all customers to wear masks starting next week. Sacramento County health officials have begun wearing masks in public and are advising others do so, but have not taken the step of formalizing that request.

Meanwhile, more residents are reporting they have decided to wear masks when out of the house as an extra precaution, saying they believe it is the responsible thing to do.

It marks a dramatic change in policies and attitudes from early last week. What happened?

Public officials initially expressed fear that wearing masks might cause more people to leave their houses more often and to stand too close to others out of a false sense of safety. California Department of Public Health Director Sonia Angell last week gave masks a tepid endorsement.

“There may be some benefits from using (face coverings), but only when they're used well,” Angell said during state officials' daily coronavirus briefing. While wearing a mask might slow the spread of the virus by blocking some saliva droplets, she said the practice could be dangerous if it leads someone to stop following guidelines on physical distancing, hand washing or face touching.

The public message changed late last week when the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing new studies, altered its stance: “The virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity - for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing - even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.

“In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.”

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams published a video last week showing how to create a mask out of scarves, bandanas, hand towels or shirts.

In California this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a series of breakthrough purchase deals that he said will secure 200 million new masks per month to be shipped into the state, helping to reduce the backlog of masks available for doctors, nurses, other first responders and community workers who serve the homeless and others in need.

Flights carrying masks and other personal protective equipment are coming in from Asia now, Office of Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said. The new shipments are enough to handle California's needs and potentially assist other states, Newsom said.

“We are in a very different place than we were just a week ago,” Newsom said. “The big concern has always been a run on masks that would impact our healthcare ... the totality of these new contracts gives you a sense of the magnitude of this approach and how comprehensive we believe we are.”

Advice on masks during coronavirus pandemic

Those announced deals have freed up health officials to encourage masks, said West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, who has been tweeting pictures of himself in masks at Nugget Market and at City Hall.

Cabaldon, who participates in regular mayors' briefings with Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University experts, said the evolution of thinking on coronavirus public policy continues to be swift and dramatic.

“The radical changes in the public mind that are occurring on 48-hour cycles, we have never seen that before, not in modern era,” he said. “The social psychology has changed from a couple weeks ago.

“The imperative has been to stay at home. We've had pretty solid compliance with those orders. Now, we are at a stage where you see someone with a mask at the market, if you are not wearing one, it is a very direct reminder about the emergency we are in.”

Sacramento County's health services director Dr. Peter Beilenson this week warned residents not to compete to buy the type of masks that are needed by healthcare workers. He said he fashioned a mask for himself out of a coffee filter, a piece of cloth and rubber bands.

“The N-95 masks and surgical masks need to be reserved for healthcare workers and those who are sick, to prevent spread,” he said. “There is no excuse.”

A few counties and cities have taken a hard line.

In Riverside County, public health officials this week ordered residents to wear face coverings in public. The order can be enforced by public authorities as deemed necessary, but Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco issued a video statement assuring residents his agency will not stop, cite or arrest people for not wearing masks.

“I need to make it perfectly clear to all residents of Riverside County. We will not be setting up a police state and this is not a declaration of martial law in Riverside County,” he said. “You will not be stopped and ticketed simply because you are not wearing a mask.”

He added, “do not call 911 to report potential violations.”

In Los Angeles this week, Mayor Garcetti announced an order for residents to wear face coverings when going into businesses such as supermarkets, taxis, laundromats, pharmacies and other stores.

The new advice and edicts have spawned a cottage industry of people sewing cloth masks, some selling them, some distributing them for free.

The city of Rancho Cordova put out a request Thursday for crafters to help sew masks and bring them to the city's food locker so that volunteers can wear them when delivering food and medical services to needy community members.

Health officials, however, continue to deliver the message that masks are a secondary safety measure. The most important safety step, they say, is to stay six feet or more away from others.

”The far, far, far most important thing is social distancing, particularly when we are clearly bending the curve now,” Sacramento's Beilenson said. “We have to keep the pedal to the metal.”