SEVERAL STATES INCLUDING CALIFORNIA STILL HAVE OUTDOOR MASK MANDATES IN PLAC E. MANY SCIENTISTS WE SPOKE TO TODAY AGREE TT HA FACE MASKS DON'T ALWAYS NEED TO BE WORN OUTDOORS- BUT IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE SITUATION YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF IN. ACTION NEWS EIGHT REPORTER PHIL GOMEZ WITH A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW SANTA CRUZ COUNTY IS MONITORING WEARING MASKS WHILE OUTSIDE 1 "We know that indoors it's far more dangerous situation than outdoors whether you've been vaccinated or not" th e U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the risk of COVI19 D- transmission in an outdoor setting is really low --BUT IT'S NOT 100% SAFE. current RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE GETTG IN VACCINATED AND KEEPING A SAFE DISTANCE FROM PEOE PL OUTSIDE OF YOUR POD WHOSE VACCINE STATUS YOU MAY NOT KNOW... "What's a worry is you're at a stop light and other people start congregating around you that's when you start feeling uncomfortable becae us there are a lot of people relatively close to you sharing that air could be a problem even though you' re outside. So that's when the mask goes on." WEARING FACE MASKS OUTDOORS HAS BEEN PART OF AN INCREASING DEBATE AS VACCINE RATES RISE "If you're in an outdoor area and you're passing other people without lasting conversation happening then you're real risk of transmissionm fro one person to the next is really low" SO FAR, 62% OF THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY COMMUNITY HAS RECEIVED ONE COVID VACCINATION 41% OF THEM HAVE RECEIVED THBO DOSES. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY DEPUTY HEALTH OFFICER DAVID GHIRADUCCI SAYS IT'S FE IN TO GATHER OUTDOORS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN VACCINATED WITHOUT A MK AS "But once you get into a situation where there's at least one unvaccinated person then that's when it becomes important." THE COUNTY IS FOLLOWING STATE AND CDC GUIDELINES ABOUT WEARING FACIAL COVERINGS--AND GHILARDUCCI YSSA THAT WEARING A MASK COMMUNICATES AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE WE'RE GETTING THE ERBUT WE'RE NOT QU