Sonoma County is resuming its mask mandate for health care facilities, but it was a policy long before the pandemic. The goal is to keep health care workers healthy and on the job through what is one of the busiest times of the year, according to the county. “We need our health care workers during the winter,” said Dr. Karen Smith, the county’s interim public health officer. “Winter is the time when we see many more patients per day, and we want to make sure we have a whole and healthy workforce.” For years before the pandemic, Sonoma County used a mask mandate for doctors, nurses and other care providers to limit the spread of viruses like the flu and RSV and bacterial infections like whooping cough. While COVID and flu levels are low across the state, cases of respiratory sincytial virus, or RSV, are on the rise, and with holiday gatherings and travel ahead, cases for all infectious diseases could go up. New COVID and flu vaccines are available, and there’s still time to get protection ahead of Thanksgiving. The CDC recommends vaccination, particularly for children 5 and younger, adults 65 and older, pregnant women and all people with underlying health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and asthma or who are immunocompromized. Several other Bay Area counties enacted mask mandates starting Nov. 1. Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Napa counties require masks for anyone providing care in or visiting hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and other health care facilities.