On Feb. 7, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the mask mandate put in place for the state would be lifted on Feb. 16 following a recent drop in COVID-19 cases after a winter battle with Omicron.

Mask requirements have been fluctuant due to new variants creating a rise in cases, such as the Omicron variant that caused a statewide mask mandate to be restored in December of last year.

Ventura County Public Health announced that they will follow suit with the state decision in a statement made by Ventura County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Levin.

“The mask order is being lifted because the COVID-19 situation has changed thanks to effective vaccines, effective treatments and a variant that causes less severe disease.” said Levin.

While masks will no longer be required for those who are vaccinated, unvaccinated individuals will still need to use facial coverings. Furthermore, Levin still encourages everybody to consider keeping the mask on to ensure some form of protection.

“I still highly recommend that all community members wear masks indoors,” said Levin. “There is strong evidence that masks, especially high-quality masks, protect both the wearer and those around them.”

When it comes to the status of mask mandates in schools, facial coverings will still be required for on-campus learning. Moorpark College disclosed in an alert, that masks will still be mandatory for students and faculty regardless of vaccination status. Ventura County Community Colleges returned to on-campus learning on Monday.

“We wanted to let you know that VCCCD will continue to require masks for all employees, students, and the community at all of our sites, through at least the end of the spring semester,” read the announcement. “We will continue monitoring local, state, and federal guidelines to keep our campuses and the community healthy and safe.”

For more alerts on current mask mandates and COVID-19 information in the Ventura County Community College District follow this page.