The mandatory mask mandate will be lifted June 15 for outdoor places in California, since the COVID-19 numbers have gone down and according to Our World In Data, around 57% of California’s population has received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and around 43% of California’s population has received their second dose of the vaccine. 

During an interview with FOX 11 Governor Gavin Newsom explained that if California did go forward and start reopening the economy on June 15, the mask mandate and restrictions would be lifted as well.

Since then, Newsom has changed his views, and made a public statement explaining that the mask mandate “would only be lifted for outdoor settings on June 15.” 

In Ventura County, fully vaccinated people are allowed to go outside without a mask in public after two weeks of receiving their second dose. However, while indoors, masks must still be worn, even if you have waited two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine. 

“Outdoors is a lot safer than indoors,” said Ventura County Health Officer Robert Levin, in an interview with the Ventura County Star. Levin also explained his concerns about the risks of lifting the restrictions.“It’s the unknowns that make me uneasy.”

As more adults, and now teenagers, recieve their vaccines, masks will slowly fade away in the outside environment. However, while at outdoor gatherings with people outside of your household, masks are still mandatory, with and without the vaccine. 

When interviewed with abc News, Newsom explained that when things reopen on June 15, the state will look, “a lot like the world before we entered into the pandemic,”

He later explained more in detail about how masks will not be mandatory, only for indoor situations, and that, “we’re not restricted in any way from doing the old things that we used to do, say for huge, large-scale indoor events, where we just use our common sense.”

These guidelines and rules for the reopening of June 15 have changed multiple times. Before, Newsom said that California would be fully open and masks would only be needed for large indoor gatherings, but he has since changed his views.

However, as of June 1, Ventura County has moved into the least restrictive yellow tier. With the county moving into the yellow tier, this means that the Covid rates have gone down, and there has been little spread of the virus.

Some restrictions have been modified for graduation June 9, due to the change in tiers. Now, students are allowed to have six attendees instead of, in the orange tier, where they could only have four.

Some more of the current restrictions will start easing back into normalcy, and currently, California is set to relieve some of the restrictions June 15, but not as many as planned before. Masks will still be used for indoor gatherings and large outdoor gatherings.