A top state health official provided little new information on Monday about lifting mask mandates in schools, as public health experts say it might be time to take more steps towards normalcy in schools.

Public health officials announce local indoor masking requirements will remain in place, despite the state's announcement lifting some mask rules Feb. 16.

Throughout California, as COVID-19 infections deplete their staff of nurses, anesthesiologists and other essential workers, hospitals are canceling or postponing so-called 'elective' surgeries to repair injured knees and aching back, remove kidney or bladder stones, and repair cataracts or hernias, among other procedures.

Masks must be worn in all indoor public places in the state regardless of vaccine status, the state Department of Public Health said in a Jan. 5 evening post on Twitter.

With case rates increasing 47% since Thanksgiving, the California Department of Public Health will require universal masking to increase protection to individuals, families, and communities during the holidays.

The guidelines outlined by the state's top public health official are looser for booster shots than those set by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One website, MyTurn, part of California’s technological response to the pandemic, proved difficult even for epidemiologists. 

The California Department of Public Health blames problems at nursing homes on staffing shortages, turnover, training and pandemic pressures at hearing at the Capitol.

California’s Department of Public Health announces first-in-the-nation rules to stop the spread of COVID-19, effective Aug. 12.

More than 5,300 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in California on Sunday, almost twice the number two weeks earlier.

The California Department of Public Health also mandated that all people visiting a health care setting must confirm their vaccination status or have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours prior to their indoor visit.

State public health officials released updated reopening guidelines that take effect this weekend.

Mixed messages, shortages and inequities have plagued California’s vaccine rollout, leaving small healthcare providers out of the loop.

More than 330,000 doses of Moderna’s inoculation were distributed throughout the state, including 21,800 to Santa Clara County.

State leaders believe the rich and influential will have a hard time cutting in line to get the first precious doses of the vaccine.

Officials have boasted of CA Notify’s potential to support test and trace efforts as the state experiences a winter surge in new cases.