All employees at Vandenberg Air Force Base are required to wear face masks.
According to a Facebook post, the mandated public health directive goes into effect April 6th and requires all military members, civilian employees, dependents, retirees, contractors, and any persons on the installation for any reason to wear a cloth face covering or face mask that covers the nose and mouth when they cannot ensure they will maintain six feet of physical distance in public areas or work centers.
This includes (but is not limited to):
- all places where personnel are on-duty
- all AAFES-operated services
- the Commissary
- the Post Office
- the PCC
- other MWR or food facilities
- Crestview Elementary School
Persons without a cloth face covering or face mask will not be permitted to enter these buildings, authorities said.
People in their personal residence (except for those on restriction, quarantine or isolation orders who must wear a cloth face covering or face mask when interacting with others), people in their personal vehicles (alone or with family members), people exercising (provided there is enough physical distance between the person exercising and others), and children in the Child Development Center are exempt.
Masks can be made out of cloth/cotton, neck gaiters, balaclavas, bandanas, scarves or other appropriate materials.
In a Facebook post, officials said military members in uniform, exercising professional discretion, should wear a face covering or mask of a neutral color.
"As medical experts and scientists learn more about COVID-19, we must be quick to adapt and overcome the challenges this virus poses to the safety and readiness of all personnel on Vandenberg AFB...wearing a face mask helps reduce the spread, and allows all personnel at Vandenberg AFB to do our part to “flatten the curve," read the post published at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Security checkpoints may require the momentary lowering of face covers to verify identification, according to officials.