5f. "Religious Gatherings. Service leaders of indoor public religious gatherings, including by way of example but not limitation, choirs, may remove their Well-Fitted Mask while actively performing religious services. If they remove their Well-Fitted Mask, service leaders must maintain at least six feet of distance from participants except when another exception applies and are encouraged to maintain as much distance from other service leaders as possible. Service leaders are strongly urged to be Fully Vaccinated or regularly tested, and to wear their Well-Fitted Masks to the greatest extent possible. Participants in indoor religious gatherings may remove their Well-Fitted Masks to participate in religious rituals.
Also, service leaders, participants, and Personnel in indoor public religious gatherings may remove their Well-Fitted Masks (with no distancing requirement) if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
i. All people (including service leaders, participants, and Personnel) entering the facility provide proof they are Fully Vaccinated.
ii. No person is unvaccinated due to a medical disability or religious exemption.
iii. The religious gathering consists of a stable group of people who participate on a regular basis. No guests or people who are not part of the congregation or do not regularly participate in the religious gathering are present. If any guest or individual who is not part of the congregation or does not regularly participate in the religious gathering is present, everyone must wear a Well-Fitted Mask unless otherwise exempted by this Order.
iv. The operator of the facility or host of the religious gathering controls access to ensure that all people entering the facility are Fully Vaccinated. People who enter the facility on an intermittent or occasional basis for short periods of time (e.g., people who deliver goods or packages) do not need to provide proof of Full Vaccination, but must wear a Well-Fitted Mask unless otherwise exempted under this Order and are strongly encouraged to avoid entering any area of the facility covered by this exemption where people in that area do not need to wear Well-Fitted Masks. For clarity, anyone who participates in the religious gathering at the facility is not considered to be there on an intermittent or occasional basis for a short period of time, regardless of how briefly they may participate or whether the gathering itself does not last long.
v. No children under 12 years old are present. If a child under 12 years old is present, everyone must wear a Well-Fitted Mask unless otherwise exempted by this Order.
vi. The operator of the facility or host of the gathering must implement at least one of the ventilation strategies listed in Section 2 of this Appendix A.
vii. An operator of the facility or host of the gathering may provide for distinct gathering spaces where people may remove their Well-Fitted Masks. For example, if a religious gathering occupies two floors in a building, people on one floor could remove their Well-Fitted Masks because they are Fully Vaccinated and the space otherwise satisfies all the conditions in this Section, but all the people on another floor must wear a Well-Fitted Mask because they do not satisfy all the conditions of this Section (e.g., not Fully Vaccinated or guests). But, people must wear a Well-Fitted Mask in common areas in that building, such as elevators, lobbies, or restrooms, where people from the two spaces could interact.
viii. Consistent with the Cal/OSHA definition of “outbreak,” people may remove their Well-Fitted Masks under this exemption only if there have been no outbreaks (currently defined as three or more COVID-19 cases in an “exposed group” within a 14-day period) for the past 30 days."
