San Jose Leaders Propose Mandatory Face Masks

San Jose residents may soon be required to wear face masks outside of their homes to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

While the Santa Clara County Public Health Department has “urged” residents to cover their faces when they go outside, San Jose Vice Mayor Chappie Jones and Councilman Sergio Jimenez want to align with other neighboring Bay Area counties that have put stricter measures in place for face coverings.

“A similar mandate has been implemented in five other Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo) and the cities of Cupertino, and Milpitas,” Jones and Jimenez wrote in a memo arguing for a similar policy. “Considering the city of San Jose is the most populous city in the region with a population of over 1 million and 66 percent of the county’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, adherence to this proposed mandate could have significant influence in further flattening the curve and reducing the spread of COVID-19.”

At Wednesday afternoon’s Rules and Open Government Committee meeting, Jones said he was “struck” by the number of people who aren’t wearing masks when he goes out to run essential errands. As businesses prepare to reopen in the coming months, the vice mayor said a mask mandate may help people feel more comfortable going out in public.

Jones and Jimenez have proposed a few exceptions to the rule in line with county health department guidance. Individuals who are exercising outdoors, under the age of 6, have trouble breathing or have been advised not to wear a mask by a medical professional would be exempt from the order.

Councilman Johnny Khamis, who is one of the five members on the subcommittee, said he was supportive of the proposal, but had concerns about enforcement. City Manager Dave Sykes said he had discussed the matter with San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia and said the department was unsure of the proposed law’s “practicality.”

“Often times we make laws to keep honest people honest,” Jones said in defense. “The vast majority of the people that know it’s a mandate will do the right thing anyway. And then if you have a situation where you have an egregious offense, say you have somebody without a mask that’s in the face of grandma, then that might be an opportunity for the police to intervene. It would be situational.”

Over the last few days, a number of other jurisdictions including the city of Palo Alto and the Santa Clara County Superior Court have also enacted its own mask mandates.

The proposal is scheduled to be heard by the full council next Tuesday.

66 Comments

  1. Santa Clara County Courts issued an order today that requires folks to wear masks in court. That is about two months after the mandate was in our local stores and essential businesses . The sheer waste of public money and resources due to the lack of leadership in the heart of Silicon Valley is revealing. The courts only issued a mask order after it was pointed out the local DA, Jeff Rosen, was taking off his mask in court and press conferences where he was close enough to spit on local journalists trying to do their job.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQ_Egr3gMk&lc=UgxzWsUfoBGpjPEK26B4AaABAg

    Perhaps the supervisors could step up and take a leadership position on this, oh wait , their hands are busy patting each other on the back for something else.

  2. Show ANY evidence that masks have stopped or even slowed the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
    Not sound good, feel good, slogans, but actual empirical evidence. I don’t think you will be able to.

    Sheltering in place sounded good to… But now that we have real evidence of it’s effectiveness, we see that it is actual more harmful than helpful. Who would a thunk it?

    • There isn’t a shred of evidence that would pass independent peer review that the plain old cloth or paper masks that most people are wearing are effective in stopping a virus that is 1/900th the size of a human hair. If the weave were tight enough to stop any virus you couldn’t breathe through it.

    • The only benefit to cloth face masks goes to the people who manufacture them and sell them.

    • They stop YOUR spit from travelling so far. The masks aren’t to protect *you*, they’re to protect other people *from* you.

      • They don’t assuming the Virus can pass through the mask. Anyhow, who cares ? If you don’t want to be near me then that is your choice.

      • Megan: They don’t protect people from you for the same reason they don’t protect you from other people. DUH!

        • In theory, the virus itself can pass through a cloth mask. However, the droplets in which the virus is suspended cannot. So if you are exhaling the virus, presumably most of it would be stopped from entering someone else’s body because the droplets in which the virus was suspended will be absorbed by the mask.

          This is why surgeons wear masks. A surgeon’s mask will not stop contamination from entering their lungs. It should stop contamination inside their body from leaving their nose and mouth and entering the body of the person being operated upon.

  3. Make it the law! This way people can’t “play dumb” about what is common sense. Citizens will enforce the law through shame or avoidance.

    • People are already rating out others. It’s like Nazi journey where people ratted out their Jewish neighbors.

      • Ratting, not rating, and Germany, not journey.
        I check my post before I submit, but autocorrect changes things after I have submitted my posts.

    • Doug I hear vagisil works good under the nostrils too. Stay home the world is a dangerous place.

  4. I am sick and tired of the government trying to run my life. At some point, you have to say enough is enough. I just did.

  5. 1. There is no known public health reason to wear a mask if you’re outside, unless you’re in close proximity to other people for an extended time. All of the currently available evidence points to very low transmission risk in chance encounters with other people out of doors.

    2. If the council passes this ordinance, it should include in the ordinance’s text the closing down of Cinco de Mayo in 2021, as few people will be obeying any kind of masking or social distancing restrictions, to judge by this year’s free-for-all.

    3. The ordinance can be added to such other dead letters as the no-riding-bicycles-on-downtown-sidewalks ordinance, whose warning signs are passed every 15 seconds by people riding bikes on sidewalks. I would be curious to know if a single citation has ever been issued for violating this highly unimportant ordinance. I imagine not, and I predict the same for a mandatory-masking ordinance.

  6. People Die.

    Get over it.

    If you can’t adapt then you are dead. That’s unfortunate to be sure but that’s the way it works.

    No one including myself wants to die but we don’t shut down society because a couple of extra people die.

  7. The latest iteration of the Stanford study says that 54,000 Santa Clara County residents have been exposed to the new coronavirus, with, I gather, 52,900 of them unaware of it.

    Why should those people have to wear masks, assuming that they’ve acquired immunity and can neither contract nor transmit the disease?

    If the ordinance remains under consideration, I recommend adding language that those 54,000 people and all who later acquire immunity be allowed to wear a giant letter I on their clothing, and go about unmasked.

    The police can stop and question them, asking to see their immunity passport, so that we’re assured no one is gaming the system.

    I think it will work seamlessly.

    • Felt odd when I walked into the bank in a mask last week ! Jeff Rosen is such a corrupt DA maybe he needs a mask order and the bad guys to defy the order to actually get a conviction. Based on his record ( Santa Clara County Grand Jury 2017 and 2018 reports) , it would still take him 3 years and 3 weeks at a trial to get a conviction for a mask order violation. So if good guys wear masks these days, what did that make Rosen when he went maskless in court and at a press conference when he was more concerned about how he looked than what he showed the people who elected him and the journalists giving him a soundbite? The great mask debate speaks volumes as to our social norms and selective prosecution by local law enforcement and the DA!

    • Or Helmets, or safety glasses, or gloves? Maybe ear plugs, or knee pads, steel toed shoes? Why not mandate rainbow patches if your gay, or a crucifix patch or a star of David? Does that go to far? Where does it end? If a City Council can mandate masks for “you safety” what else can they mandate?

      Enough is Enough.

    • > Why not just mandate hijabs or top hats?

      Burkas!

      Burkas are FAR safer and more effective than face masks in preventing the spread of coronavirus.

      It’s SCIENCE!

      We’re data driven here.

  8. Try getting a sheep to wear a facemask. It won’t stand for it. But us human beings in the bay area? “Oh please, Big Brother. Make me wear a facemask”
    We’re more like sheep than sheep.

  9. Santa Clara County health department will announce on May 31 a

    TOTAL LOCKDOWN

    In partnership with the Shackle corporation, All county residents will be shackled with GPS monitors confining them to their house except for approved essential travel.

    Essential travel can be requested at requestapass (dot) org.

  10. Those tired of their freedoms being limited should jump at joy at masks. COVID-19 is a respiratorily transmitted illness, if we were all wearing masks to begin with, we could have opened more and sooner, and all the safer. Those who say mask don’t work are rejecting common medical practice dating back a century.

    Those wanting studies and case studies. How about the entire continent of Asia? Masks are the leading method to accelerating re-openning.

    Here’s a study from Berkeley: “COVID-19 cases would plummet if 80% of Americans wore face masks, study says”
    https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/covid-19-cases-would-plummet-if-80-of-americans-wore-face-masks-study-says

    • If Chappie was proposing that San Joseans could go back to work provided everybody wear masks then fine, I might agree. But that’s not what he nor the rest of the Democrat fascists want.

      • > That was the very best comment I have ever seen on the mask debate.

        > > COVID-19 cases would plummet if 80% of Americans wore face masks, study says

        Susan:

        It was JUST a study. It wasn’t the Ten Commandments engraved on stone tablets by the finger of God. Progressives don’t even believe in the Ten Commandments. Why would they or anyone else take a “study” at face value?

        Studies are a dime a dozen. Some are good, some are not.

        Lunatics can do studies.

        Studies are nothing more than things to think about. You still have to use common sense.

    • I don’t trust studies in the first place. I would have never shutdown the country in the first place.

      This virus doesn’t kill young and healthy people. It kills off old and unhealthy people that would have been dead anyway in short order.

      People Die.

      Get over it.

      We didn’t want the dead people in the first place. Half the deaths were people in nursing homes. We would rather have them dead than in nursing homes. Almost half the fatalities are people in nursing homes. Tough Luck. You aren’t living in a nursing home but merely existing by sheltering in place until some bug or health condition takes you out. People dump their old relatives in nursing homes because they can’t or won’t take care of them and/or don’t want to look at them. No one understandably wants to except the fact that people have a tendency to die.

      Now people are complaining that homeless people on the street are more likely to die from the virus. Reality check. We don’t care. If we didn’t want homeless people on the street in the first place then they wouldn’t be on the street. Now they are rounding up the homeless and putting them into concentration camps. Oops, I meant motels like the Sleezy 8 (e.g. Easy 8) where you can’t have visitors and the homeless are strongly encouraged not to go outside.

      Let’s assume the worse case scenario for this virus. 3M dead being 1% of the American population. So what ? 2.8M people died in the US during 2018. The vast majority of the additional 3M people dead were people that were going to die in short order. The average age of person dying from this virus is around 75 based on the data that I have been able to find. 75% of the deaths are from people that were in poor health with the politically correct term being unhealthy.

      The above sounds and is cruel. Guess What ? Mother Nature’s a cruel beast.

      • I will bet most of the people who is, has died, about to die, is in age retirement, has retirement checks payments, health coverage, residential coverage, homes or real estate property that will increase the wages of council board member even greater once the funds are redistributed into a general fund and mixed around, renamed, and what not. Or perhaps there is an influx of retiring folks and you need the space. I am just speculating as to why mask mandatory enforcement is necessary in the long run. You might as well quit your job if you gonna hide your face in isolation as the solution to Corona. Police officers pleasewplease do not follow the orders of mandatory face mask bc there is just no reason why u should be asked to put yourself in harm’s way to enforce or ticket unemployed folks. You will be hated on by civilians who love you if you follow orders blindly. When it is your time to retire expect the unexpected karma cuz every little thing you do will come around and bite you. What goes around will come around a little faster on a round revolutionary rotating planet. You’ll see once it’s only u council members left on this planet…hihehihe…I kid u not. Have a wonderful lifetime living with your kind for an eternity. Who would you steal from but each other.

    • Did you fail reading, Mountain View? The article says “A new computer model suggests…That’s hardly a study or proof. Have you forgotten that every computer model so far has been dead wrong? You’re just another person under the Svengali-like sway of Fauci, who has also been wrong most of the time.

      • For you math and science types, the deterministic SIRES model to model pandemic requires an estimate of the population proportion infected with the Virus.

        We never had that. In fact, I have been complaining about that since almost day 1 being middle of March regarding the absence of that information. (You can see the gory details at sanjosespotlight (dot) com))

        Santa Clara County Health Department at the onset admitted that they didn’t keep records of the people that didn’t test positive for the virus. Only kept records of those testing positive. For you science types, You know that isn’t a good idea.

        For those of you who aren’t science types but have common sense, it is a good idea to make at least an educated guess on the percentage of the population infected with the Virus. E.g. 10 positives out of 100 is not the same as 10 positives out of 100,000. Had you kept records of those not testing positive then you would know. We didn’t so we don’t know.

        Garbage In. Garbage Out.

        The city of San Jose at the onset threw its hat onto the ring coming up with a model that the Santa Clara County Health Department immediately discredited. How the City of San Jose became qualified to come up with a model in the first place is something that still needs to be answered.

    • If masks work then why have we not opened everything up? If masks don’t work then why mandate wearing them? And while Berkeley says mask work, the CDC said they don’t. Who’s right and why?
      And by the way, they’re not wearing masks in Sweden and they don’t need to “re-open” since they never needed to close.

  11. How many people have NOT died in car related accidents since we’ve been under SIP orders? Maybe we should make all car driving illegal to prevent future deaths. If you think this is a stupid comment, you should read what I think about face masks.

  12. Reality check for the state of California. You aren’t going to get a bail out while the rest of America goes back to work.

    Wisconsin supreme court threw out the stay at home order as unconstitutional with its citizens celebrating in bars. Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, etc. are going back to work.

    The LA mayor wants another 3 month shutdown. Fine. California can try shutting down for months on end without a federal bailout and see how long it lasts.

    The new CA state budget has a 10% cut in state salaries which won’t happen if the Feds bail out CA. The rest of American goes to work with CA sitting around at home waiting for a bailout. Good Luck.

  13. To help stop the spread? What spread are they talking about? There were a grand total of 15 news cases yesterday in Santa Clara County…among a population of nearly 2,000,000.,,and now they want to add more restrictions…all without any apparent knowledge of or concern for the devastation they are causing. This is mass insanity.

  14. > San Jose residents may soon be required to wear face masks outside of their homes to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

    Well, if we’re trying to “stop the spread of COVID-19”, and the experts say that “social distancing” and “masks” are working, the obvious conclusion is that if something is working, more of something will work better.

    We need to urge the county health experts to increase the social distancing from 6 feet to 25 feet.

    And also, that county should mandate that masks must be worn twenty-four hours a day AND must be airtight..

    The County is not doing enough. We need to do more!

    Those who care more, do more! (heart emoji)!

  15. Rob a home, you are welcome in San Jose and bail not required. Don’t wear a mask and you will be prosecuted. Only in San Jose.

    • It’s not just San Jose. The mayor of LA announced a shutdown until the end of July along with requiring everyone to wear face masks.

      ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

      At some point, you have to tell the government to back off. These people don’t give a damn about you or your rights. Even if the Corona Virus went away tomorrow, the politicians will never let you go back to a normal life.

      • Correct. These are people inside gov’t who’ve waited their entire adult lives for this moment of having complete and total control of the population and economy. No one should believe they are going to willingly give that level of power up any time soon.

        • That’s why I think Rush Limbaugh saying that we are on a verge of a civil war might not be so far off. However what the media claims what Rush Limbaugh said is not what Limbaugh actually said.

        • > These are people inside gov’t who’ve waited their entire adult lives for this moment of having complete and total control of the population and economy.

          Not just “inside gov’t”: Anywhere progressive drones are warehoused or stockpiled: universities, foundations, think tanks, media companies, newspapers.

          I think of them as “political cockroaches”. They’re mostly out of sight until the lights go out. Then they’re everywhere underfoot.

  16. Lots of cranky people here, Jeesus F. Christ! First y’all say, Show Me A Study! Then y’all say, I Don’t Believe In Studies.

    You all demonstrate that those with the most to say are the ones with the least to say.

    • Got that wrong.

      I don’t believe in ANY of the studies except for the one that I did somewhat on a back of the envelope.

      You can say that my model is all garbage and that might not be so far from the truth. What I do know is that most of what I stated at the beginning (go to sanjosespotlight (dot) com) turned out to be accurate.

      In short, We should have not done anything and let mother nature take it’s course.

  17. The vast majority of people have contracted Covid from being in close contact indoors with an infected person. Wearing masks inside is obviously important. However, there is no evidence that outdoor transmission under normal circumstances has been a significant factor in the pandemic. We’re not talking about a packed musical festival or whatever: we’re talking about people going for a walk in a park and keeping a safe distance between themselves and others. Actually, if our leaders really wanted to stop transmission, they would require us to wear masks at home, 24-7, and they would require every person in a household to remain isolated in one room, because you are most likely to catch it from your own family members. However, restricting people’s behavior in their own homes would obviously be crazy, so instead our leaders want to show they are doing something so they threaten to arrest people who are walking without a mask on an deserted sidewalk or gardening in their own front yard. Make no mistake, this is purely performative and has nothing to do with science.

    • This isn’t about individual health. It is about government control of your life. It won’t stop with face masks. Don’t be surprised if someone suggests GPS monitoring with ankle bracelets to make sure you stay inside.

      Everyone has to make up their own mind. For me, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

    • > Make no mistake, this is purely performative and has nothing to do with science.

      Careful. You’re going to lose you’re social justice card.

      Expect a visit from the government healthcare expert attitude adjustment squad.

    • If the government doesn’t get its jackboots off our necks soon, there will be an increasing number of peaceful protests. Memorial Day would be the perfect day to turn up the heat against the oligarchic governors in particular. All those American soldiers we’ll be honoring that day didn’t die or be wounded so that state governors could collectively shut down the entire economy and throw the Constitution out the window based on the pronouncements of a narcissistic doctor who is aglow in the limelight he has created for himself, despite the fact that almost all of his predictions have been wrong. The liberal press continues to fawn over him and print only what fits into his narrative. Meanwhile, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are taking down anything that disputes the Fauci party line.
      If governors like Newsom and Cuomo still persist in crushing our rights, rioting and looting will likely follow. Wake up America!

      • I don’t think the protests will stay peaceful. All ready we are seeing police departments refusing to carry out shelter in place orders.

  18. Tell that to the people in Wisconsin after their state supreme court tossed out the shelter in place orders. People are out visiting beaches and parks without wearing masks. Tell that to the 77 year old barber in Michigan who kept his barber shop open even though the governor took away his license.

    Like I said before, massive civil unrest is just around the corner.

  19. Sergio Jimenez and Chappie Jones demand that everyone has to wear mandatory face masks?

    Jimenez oughta check out the flea market and see how many of his peeps are wearing masks. The three or four admission lines today were at least 40 yards long with people waiting to get in. They were socially distancing themselves by about 6 inches, and once we were inside the place was packed. The parking lot holds 1600 cars. It’s already full, and it’s not even noon yet.

    Show us how convincing you are with your own constituents, Sergio. If you can get them to follow your neo-Nazi orders at the flea market, you’ll have credibility.

    That’ll be the day.

    • > Sergio Jimenez and Chappie Jones demand that everyone has to wear mandatory face masks?

      VIVA LA LIBERTAD! Sergio.

      LET MY PEOPLE GO! Chappie.

      As Ronald Reagan said: “FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY WE’RE FREE AT LAST!”

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