Mask mandate returns for California lawmakers, staff

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) At least nine people who work at the California state Capitol have contracted the coronavirus. The outbreak has triggered a return of the mask mandate for lawmakers and staff.

Masks have been required in public spaces inside the Capitol throughout the pandemic. But fully vaccinated lawmakers and staff had been allowed to remove their masks in their offices.

Four of the new cases at the Capitol are people who were fully vaccinated. State data shows such cases are rare. The state has confirmed 8,699 coronavirus infections in fully vaccinated people, less than a half-percent. That's 0.043% of the more than 20 million people inoculated.