Ventura County Department of Public Health

The Ventura County Public Health Officer has extended the indoor mask order, requiring all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, to wear face coverings when indoors in public settings, with limited exceptions. “The order is necessary to reduce the rate of community spread and to reinforce the need for safe interactions. We will continue to monitor transmission rates, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccination rates throughout the County,” said Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin.

The order will continue to be in effect until:
(1) Ventura County reaches the moderate (yellow) COVID-19 transmission tier, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (a daily case rate of 7 per 100,000), and remains there for at least three weeks; and

(2) COVID-19 hospitalizations in the County are low and stable, in the judgment of the Health Officer; and

(3) eight weeks have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by federal and state authorities for 5 to 11-year-olds or 80% of the County’s eligible population is fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson (booster doses not considered); Or until the Order is extended, rescinded, superseded or amended in writing by the Health Officer.

The order directs that face coverings must be worn over the mouth and nose – regardless of vaccination status – in all indoor public settings, venues, gatherings, and workplaces, including but not limited to offices, retail stores, restaurants and bars, theaters, family entertainment centers, conference and event centers, and government offices serving the public.

Performers at indoor live events such as theater, opera, symphony, and professional sports and persons speaking before a live audience may remove face coverings while actively performing or participating, though such individuals should practice physical distancing as much as practicable. Further amendment and clarification to the Order may be set forth in the County of Ventura’s FAQs. Due to the quickly evolving nature of local health conditions and State orders, the Health Officer has determined that the public would be best served by utilizing FAQ’s that can be easily accessed by members of the public and quickly updated by the Health Officer as circumstances warrant. Therefore, all FAQs on the County of Ventura website at www.vcrecovers.org shall be deemed a directive of the Health Officer.