Most of you have probably heard that the State of California and Monterey County lifted the indoor mask mandate on February 16, 2022 for people who are vaccinated for Covid.**
As of February 16, businesses in Monterey's Lighthouse District are not required to enforce masking and social distancing for anyone who's been vaccinated. Keep in mind that they can still request that everyone wear a mask while on their premises.
Please remember that each small business is run by someone who has a family and is dealing with challenges that you can't see. If a business is still requiring everyone to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status, they surely have a good reason for doing so. While we all want everything to be normal, for people operating shops, restaurants, and services, things are still a long way from normal.
Please help us by being your most compassionate and understanding self. If wearing a mask is not something you're willing to do, just take your money to another business until their rules change.
What if you want to keep wearing a mask? If you're vaccinated but still want to wear a mask, that's your business. You're allowed to do that regardless of what other people are doing around you.
You can read more about all of this in Pam Marino's article in Monterey County Weekly.
**Not vaccinated? Please keep your mask on indoors. Want to get vaccinated and/or boosted? You can make an appointment here.
