Bay Area
Marin Aligns with State on Face Covering Guidelines Universal Indoor Masking Returns to All Indoor Public Spaces
Effective as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, previous local face covering exemptions carved out for indoor spaces with consistent cohorts of fully vaccinated people will no longer apply. Now, all people in Marin County, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask in all indoor public settings, in accordance with the state-wide mandate. This includes gyms, fitness centers, office settings, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings, college classes, and similar settings.

Courtesy of Marin County
With COVID-19 case rates rising rapidly, Marin County Public Health is aligning with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and requiring the wearing of face coverings in all indoor public places to stem the virus’ spread.
Effective as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, previous local face covering exemptions carved out for indoor spaces with consistent cohorts of fully vaccinated people will no longer apply. Now, all people in Marin County, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask in all indoor public settings, in accordance with the state-wide mandate. This includes gyms, fitness centers, office settings, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings, college classes, and similar settings.
The first case of Omicron variant in Marin was identified on Dec. 17. Since then, average daily COVID-19 case counts have tripled, fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant. On Dec. 28, 338 new cases were reported, exceeding the prior highest daily case count by more than 100 cases.
“When we see numbers like this, it’s time to respond,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County Public Health Officer. “The mask exemption for certain settings was a pre-Omicron policy. This variant behaves differently, and the risk of infection in a room full of vaccinated people who are unmasked is much higher now.”
Despite rising case counts, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 infections have remained stable across Marin. That is attributed to Marin County’s very high vaccination rate: 92.1% of Marin’s population ages 5 and over have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. Still, health authorities express concern that hospitalization rates could increase significantly in the coming days if case counts continue to rise at current rates.
CDPH’s statewide indoor mask mandate went into effect Dec. 15. At that time, Marin and other local counties were given an option to adopt a pre-existing mask order in lieu of the state’s order. Marin and five other jurisdictions — the counties of Sonoma, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, and the city of Berkeley — adopted local orders that allowed some exemptions not found in the state’s policy. The recension of the local order means Marin now falls under CDPH’s mask order, which remains in effect through at least Jan. 15, 2022.
On Dec. 28, Contra Costa County made a similar announcement, issuing a new health order that removed limited exemptions to indoor mask use.
COVID-19 vaccines, including booster doses, continue to offer the most effective protection against hospitalization and death from all variants of COVID-19 circulating in the Bay Area.
Safe, free, and effective COVID-19 vaccines are available to everyone ages 5 and up. Book an appointment or find a nearby clinic on GetVaccinatedMarin.org.
More information face coverings, local policies, and resources for businesses, including printable signs, can be found at Coronavirus.MarinHHS.org/masks.
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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025
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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025
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Bay Area
Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System
While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

The Richmond Standard
Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.
The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.
“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”
While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.
“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”
The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.
Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.
“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.
Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.
Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.
For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.
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