Masks
Last updated September 27, 2022 at 9:46 AM
Follow your county’s community level to determine masking recommendations in your area.
On this page:
When to wear a mask
These are the statewide guidelines for masks. Your local area may require masks where the state doesn’t. Check your area’s COVID-19 website.
- Healthcare settings
- Long-term care and adult senior care settings
In other settings, masks may be recommended for people who are vulnerable. Masks are recommended for everyone when levels of COVID-19 infections are higher, depending on CDC COVID-19 Community Level.
Learn more in Guidance for the Use of Face Masks.
![Illustration of a man and a woman wearing masks while riding a train](https://webharvest.gov/congress117th/20221010160111im_/https://files.covid19.ca.gov/img/maskingontransit.png)
Upgrade your mask
When cases are on the rise or your risk is higher, increase your protection by upgrading your mask.
Most effective:
- N95
More effective:
- KF94
- KN95
- Double mask
- Fitted surgical mask
Effective:
- Surgical mask
Least effective:
- Cloth mask with 3 or more layers
Whatever mask you wear, make sure it fits to your face closely and without gaps.
Learn more:
Mask-wearing exemptions
The following individuals are exempt from wearing masks at all times:
- Children under two years old, due to the risk of suffocation
- People with:
- A medical condition,
- Mental health condition, or
- Disability that precludes wearing a mask. This includes:
- Those for whom a mask could obstruct breathing
- Who are unconscious or incapacitated
- Unable to remove a mask without help
- People for whom seeing the mouth is essential for communication:
- Hearing impaired, or
- Those communicating with a person who is hearing impaired
- People for whom wearing a mask would create a risk as they work, as determined by:
- Local, state, or federal regulators, or
- Workplace safety guidelines
Read more about mask exemptions at Guidance for the Use of Face Masks.
Masking at work
Cal/OSHA has issued the following mask requirements.
- Masks are strongly recommended indoors
- In outbreaks, wear masks indoors and outdoors when you can’t maintain six feet of distance
- Masks are not required outdoors (except during outbreaks)
- Workers should train for outdoor use of face coverings
- Employers must provide unvaccinated employees with NIOSH-certified respirator masks for voluntary use when:
- Working indoors, or
- In a vehicle with others
For more information, see:
- Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS)