Reopening means we’ll be moving from city to city again. As Orange County doesn’t have one face covering requirement, it’s important to know where you’re, and if you’re required to wear face covering.
The County of Orange requires “certain employees at some essential businesses must wear face coverings.” Prior to it, nine cities had come up with their own face covering requirements, The county stated, “If a city has a more restrictive rule regarding face coverings, the more restrictive rule will apply to their jurisdiction.”
Here is a brief summary of the face covering requirements across the county, as of May 5. The effective dates are simply date stamps, considering more changes may occur.
| EFFECTIVE | EMPLOYEES | PATRONS | RESIDENTS | VISITORS | |
| Irvine | 4/8 | X | X | ||
| Seal Beach | 4/11 | X | X | X | X |
| Costa Mesa | 4/13 | X | X | X | |
| Buena Park | 4/14 | X | X | X | |
| Santa Ana | 4/15 | X | |||
| Laguna Beach | 4/16 | X | X | ||
| Aliso Viejo | 4/16 | X | |||
| Westminster | 4/20 | X | |||
| Fullerton | 4/24 | X | X | ||
| County of Orange | 4/24 | X |
County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick’s strongly encourages everyone to wear face covering outside the home. Obviously, the policies are lagging. But it has not been easy to get here. We should thank the nine cities, County Supervisor Andrew Do and all the policymakers, who showed leadership in this matter.
For now, let’s do our part, follow Dr. Quick’s advice, stay healthy and stay safe.
Hoiyin Ip is an environmental activist in Orange County.
Opinions expressed in community opinion pieces belong to the authors and not Voice of OC.
Voice of OC is interested in hearing different perspectives and voices. If you want to weigh in on this issue or others please email opinions@voiceofoc.org.