In a move mirroring its neighboring Bay Area counties, Contra Costa Health (CCH) is now encouraging residents to mask up indoors, especially the high-risk population, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. With the Bay Area witnessing a noticeable uptick in cases spurred by the highly contagious FLiRT variant, health officials are making a sensible plea to the public: wear masks in crowded indoor settings. This is a recommendation, not a mandate, but it's clear that the situation is evolving, as noted by Contra Costa Health.

The FLiRT variant is currently on a worrying romp across the western U.S. and has epidemiologists on heightened alert. Despite not being considerably deadly or leading to an upsurge in hospitalizations, its transmissibility has made indoor masking a prudent choice for shoppers and workers alike. Wastewater monitoring in Contra Costa County depicted a sharp rise in viral concentration between May 9 and July 9, as detailed by Contra Costa Health and further examined by KRON4. Even though the levels have recently plateaued, they remain concerningly high.

At grocery stores in Lafayette, KRON4 reports a visible scantiness of masks, indicating perhaps a community complacency or fatigue with the pandemic protocols. As per KRON4, Connie Koplan observed "I do sometimes see people wearing masks. It’s few and far between. Usually older people". While anecdotal, this reflects a wider sentiment of the virus being perceived as less threatening due to widespread vaccinations, yet officials remain vigilant in their messaging that the virus is still very much among us.