With coronavirus cases falling fast, California also is lifting a requirement that people produce a negative coronavirus test before visiting hospitals and nursing homes, effective immediately. Public File for KBCW-TV / KBCW 44 Cable 12. The only thing thats changed is that [masks are now] strongly recommended instead of required and we assume that the majority of our students and faculty will continue to mask, said SMUHSD Health Services Manager Sara Devaney. Decrease, Reset Newsom, a Democrat, has come under pressure from Republicans and other critics to ease the mandates. "Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving," said state Public Health Officer Dr. Toms J. Aragn. In Santa Clara County, there is now an average of 202 new cases per day over the last week, the highest rates since late February, according to county data. If you have household or social contact with a vulnerable person*, wearing a mask is recommended when indoors with them. Bay Area health officers have released guidelines for ending indoor mask mandates. Willis said Marin's high vaccination rate is helping drive down cases and hospitalizations. Health officers for the nine Bay Area jurisdictions that require face coverings in most indoor public spaces. Marin was the first county in the region to advance into the yellow tier earlier this week. The mask mandate will be lifted when there is evidence of a sustained downward trend in transmission and ICU capacity has recovered.. To achieve this, authorities are easing cautionary measures so residents can gradually and safely begin the return to pre-pandemic customs. Hazardous Materials Business Plan Program, California Accidental Release Prevention Program (CalARP), Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tank Program. For additionalinformation on testing guidance from the The new restrictions affect all residents, not just those who are unvaccinated. CDPH Masking Guidance Frequently Asked Questions. On April 11, the girls and boys varsity track and, On March 21, Aragon senior Lloyd Walter signed his, On March 21, three more trees fell on Aragons c, Just before 7 p.m. on March 16, power was restored. COVID shots are low priority for healthy kids, teens, WHO says. "Weve talked about following the science as we place new restrictions, and the local mask mandate helped control the fourth wave," he said. Contra Costa, Napa and Sonoma are further away with case rates of 67.97, 65.34 and 57.86, respectively. updatefrom County Health Chief Louise Rogers. When choosing to wear a mask, ensure your mask provides the best. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. By comparison, San Francisco was at 75%. I dont think the school should lift the mask mandate because its like etiquette for people to keep wearing masks to protect other students, said junior and Virology Club member Josh Lee. Marin County is seeing some of the lowest COVID-19 case rates in the Bay Area. Helping everyone in San Mateo County live longer & better lives. They are among a dozen states with mask mandates in schools. PCR testing remains widely available through health care Some people are exempt from this latest mask rule, according to the California Department of Health. "We want to see that all eligible residents receive a booster to maintain their optimal protection," Chabra said. Capacity and distancing restrictions have been lifted for most businesses and activities. Ask bilingual California nurses live for free, Original COVID shots no longer authorized but newer ones are, FDA says. health care settings. Capacity and distancing restrictions have been lifted for most businesses and activities. Property owner speaks out. Aragon enforces student supervision policy, The benefits and dangers of cryptocurrency, Boys lacrosse loses to Priory 10-17 on senior night. 11. Read thelatest community Eric Ting is SFGATE's politics editor. in-home vaccination appointment. For additional information on the most effective types of masks and ensuring a well-fitted mask for children, individuals should refer to When the mandate was first announced, city acting Health Officer Dr. Naveena Bobba expressly referred to the mandate as "temporary. REDWOOD CITY (AP) -- San Mateo County supervisors announced late Thursday that, effective July 26, masks will be required in all county buildings and facilities for both employees and. Center,etc. For outdoor events with more than 10,000 people, there is no vaccination requirement but masks or negative tests are recommended. "But not committing to any single metric. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. The universal mask mandate was implemented, along with other COVID-19 recommendations, on Dec. 15 for four weeks. "If they know that the people that are taking their mask off are vaccinated then I think they're going to feel a whole lot safe," said King. Other downtown establishments also experienced an increase in patronage since businesses shut down in 2020. However, he said people should use more caution in settings where there is a lot of movement, including grocery stores and malls. Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a mask. However, about 64,000 people who were vaccinated marked their race/ethnicity as 'other' or 'unknown.'. However, junior and Virology Club member Evan Molloy recognizes the benefits of ending the mandate. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? (1-833-422-4255). All three counties have seen weeks of sustained case decreases and have total population vaccination rates close to 70%, and, as a result, may not hit the 80% benchmark as quickly as other Bay Area counties will once the vaccine is approved for children ages 5-11. Vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks in indoor or public spaces, but those who are unvaccinated must continue to wear their masks indoors. Wearing a mask is strongly recommended in indoor public places. If youve had a significant exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, wear a mask for 10 days. Reset For those in the Golden State, this means everyone, vaccinated and unvaccinated, must wear a face covering in indoor public spaces for the most part. [However, the customers] who arent wearing a mask anymore are happier. tosmchealth_iz@smcgov.org. King owns YogaSix studios in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. No wonder educators are fed up | Opinion, Simply delicious. The best Thai restaurant in SLO County, according to reader poll, SLO County weather: Scattered rain, thunderstorms and cold temperatures, Vintage motel in downtown Paso Robles set to reopen with a whole new look, Why is company kicking renters out of Central Coast apartments? To date, County Health has identified 43,444 positive cases of COVID-19 across all of San Mateo County and 584 deaths. Weve been wearing masks for almost two years so itll be nice to see each others faces again. We continue to operate vaccination clinics offering first and second doses of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson at 20 locations that are accessible to the most impacted communities.". boosters remain widely available at health care providers and A sign in the window of a business in Chinatown on Stockton Street reminds customers of the indoor mask mandate in San Francisco, Calif. on August 5, 2021. "We're still in 'purple' equivalent and would want to see numbers closer to orange," he wrote. Heres when youll need one, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have increased, coronavirus cases reaching record highs following the holidays, counties that do not have existing guidelines on masks, those who travel in or out of California get tested for COVID, No vaccine rule for some. new guidance here. Regardless of the COVID-19 community levels, CDPH recommends: There is lower community spread and impact on healthcare system of COVID-19. All Rights Reserved. "I may be one of the holdouts and let the general public come into my store, elect whether they wear a mask or not. "We estimate that there are around 68,000 currently eligible and unvaccinated residents. The Associated Press contributed to this report. While Marin's move into the yellow is promising, it needs to remain at that level for 21 consecutive days. "You know, we're all ready to take this mask off.". "For now were focusing on maintaining the progress weve gained," Willis said. County Health Officer Farnitano had previously said hospitalization numbers will be used to determine when to lift the mandate, and the most recent seven-day average for hospitalizations in the county is 188 patients, down from the peak of 220 on Aug. 23. Health,Stanford For vaccine-relatedquestions, please email inquiries Read more aboutthe Across the county, 82 percent of total residents have been fully vaccinated while almost 90 percent have received at least one vaccine dose and almost 400,000 booster doses have been administered. retired. Follow us on Twitter. For real-time information on the availability of vaccines and how Han's statement strongly suggests that Santa Clara won't lift its indoor mask mandate until the FDA approves vaccines for children ages 12 and younger. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. If hospitalization rates remain elevated we would stick to our current approach. To learn more, visit:https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/#can-open. "For me, I'm 69 years old," Houston said. All rights reserved. "Whenever you're in a crowded situation with lots of different households coming together, you don't know who they are, it's probably still a good idea when there's a lot of virus floating around to wear your mask," Chin-Hong said. This data dashboard has been archived and may contain content that is out of date. Unvaccinated individuals over age 2 will continue to be required to wear masks in all indoor public settings. So we set that as the metric well want to see less than 15 people in the hospital for COVID-19 before lifting the mandate. The mandate was extended through Feb. 15. What does that mean? Napa County later followed suit, but Solano County has not issued such a mandate. In summary: When - The California indoor mask mandate expired at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The end of the school mask mandate is garnering mixed reactions from students. mask mandate for vaccinated persons, effectiveFebruary 16. Health care facilities and other high-risk setting operators should develop and implement their own facility-specific plans based on their community, patient population, and other facility considerations incorporating CDPH and CDC recommendations.. Vaccines are available with This affects about 50% of Californians who are not currently under a county-level mask mandate. Please enter valid email address to continue. Medicine,San Mateo Medical This story has been updated to include additional information from the California Department of Public Health on exemptions to the new indoor mask mandate. Hazardous Materials Business Plan Program, California Accidental Release Prevention Program (CalARP), Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tank Program. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Tested guidance. All Bay Area counties now appear to be seeing some relief from the omicron surge in terms. Dr. Chin-Hong said that the increase in community immunity from the widespread of the Omicron variant, early COVID intervention treatments and the significant decline in cases are among the reasons he agrees with the state's stance that it's time to loosen mask measures. In recent days, county data shows that daily COVID hospitalizations have dropped to 84 as of Monday, compared to over 100 in recent weeks. Maria Medina Wilson Walker contributed reporting. During a meeting of the county's Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Louise Rogers, chief of San Mateo County Health, explained her thinking behind COVID becoming endemic. "I think California is ready," said University of California San Francisco Prof. of Medicine Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. "One of the silver linings of Omicron, so to speak, is that a large number of the American population saw the virus, and as a result of that they became immune.". Espaol, - On Feb. 16, San Mateo County followed the California state government order to relax mask mandates. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). I think it can be very unnerving for people who are at higher risk. Learn how your comment data is processed. (916) 558-1784, COVID 19 Information Line: These public health recommendations will be updated as CDPH continues to assess conditions on an ongoing basis. appointments are recommended. Wearing a mask is recommended in indoor public places. All of these counties, except for Santa Clara County, chose to align with the state decision.. or withoutadvance appointments onMyTurn, though appointments are "I would hope that they follow what the state is doing. such as Walgreens, CVS, and others. Currently, four Bay Area counties Marin, San Mateo, Alameda and San Francisco are in the yellow tier. Of the four Bay Area counties not in the yellow tier Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Napa and Sonoma Santa Clara is the closest one to entering with a seven-day case rate of 53.17. Health,Dignity Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO), Assessor - County Clerk - Recorder & Elections, Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, Water Quality Notifications (Beach/Creek), https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/#can-open, Face covering guidance from California Dept. In early August, seven Bay Area counties San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin and Sonoma simultaneously issued an indoor mask mandate for all individuals regardless of vaccination status as the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 started to spread in the region. King just began to make it mandatory for her students to show proof of vaccination. Consistent with the SMARTER Plan and our adaptation of the SarsCoV-2 virus in our lives, California is updating its masking guidance. Masks will be mandatory starting Monday at all San Mateo County facilities regardless of a person's vaccination status. And 15,248 people were hospitalized with COVID as of Monday, about 200 fewer than the end of last week. Stay tuned for ongoing updates. Persons younger than two years old. establishedcriteriafor lifting local masking orders, available with or withoutadvance appointments Here's what all seven counties said when asked about the future of indoor mask mandates. They start having conversations and bring more friends, so we get more clients.. However, California health officials extended the deadline on Wednesday, Jan. 5, due to the recent surge of the omicron variant, which has resulted in coronavirus cases reaching record highs following the holidays. San Mateo County Reopening As of June 15, 2021, San Mateo County fully aligns with all state COVID-19 health and safety guidance and has no plans to impose separate guidance. Dr. Karen Smith, Napa County's interim public health officer, said in a statement, "We continue to carefully monitor several indicators of the spread of COVID-19 in Napa County and the surrounding area including: case rates, local hospitalizations and intensive care unit capacity. Very young children must not wear a mask because of the risk of suffocation. A San Mateo County spokesperson said the county has a total population vaccination rate of only 72.5%, which will increase once children ages 5 to 11 can begin receiving inoculations in the. The county health officer determines that COVID-19 hospitalizations are "low and stable.". With over 90% of our eligible community fully vaccinated, weve earned another margin of normalcy.". onMyTurn, though Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Local health departments that had mask requirements before Dec. 13 will continue mandating existing health orders. Local governments can continue their own indoor masking requirements. Eric Ting is SFGATE's politics editor. Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) PDFStandard and should consult those regulations for additional applicable requirements. Heres why, She couldnt recognize her dad after COVID, study says. Business owners, including Toni King, are holding their breath on what counties will decide on Feb. 15. Other individuals can be exempt if wearing a mask creates risk at work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a mask could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a mask without assistance. In neighboring San Mateo County, Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow emphasized a separate point officials made during the briefing: The mask mandate is intended to curb transmission so that . How to Get Businesses will no longer be required to ensure guests wear masks, but may opt to continue to require guests to wear masks as a condition of service. Hanh Truong is a reporter on The Sacramento Bees service journalism desk. Related Materials:Masking Q&A| MaskingFactSheet(PDF)|FaceMask Tips and Resources|Face ShieldsQ&A (PDF)|Safe Schools for All Hub|All Guidance|More Languages. San Mateo County to lift indoor mask mandate on February 16. by Linda Hubbard on February 9, 2022. It plans to keep indoor mask requirements in place until the county has two straight weeks at or below a "moderate" rate of 50 new cases per 100,000 people and there aren't any reports of a new, troubling variant circulating, Ferrer said. California Department of Public Health (CDPH), please view the County Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis has said that a case. Those three counties all have total population vaccination rates above 70%, and should hit the 80% threshold once authorization is given for children ages 5-11 to begin receiving doses, a development that could come as soon as this week. To lift the mask mandate, 80% of a county's total population must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or eight weeks removed from when the COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for children. Please usethis Gov. Alameda County Public Health Department spokesperson Neetu Balram said health officials will not consider lifting the mandate until the county reaches "moderate" or "low" levels of community transmission on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's county-by-county tracker. Gavin Newsom's administrationbrought back the masking mandatein mid-December as omicron gained momentum and last month extended the requirement through Feb. 15. You can email her at agraff@sfgate.com. providers, such as Kaiser and Sutter, as well as from pharmacies Heres what rules will (and wont) change, People receiving medical or cosmetic service on the nose or face. Residents can continue toschedule vaccination appointments recommended. However, even if the state lifts its mask requirement for schools, individual school. We are following the state, but we are encouraging people to continue wearing their masks.. "It's not that the virus is going to disappear. Vaccination is Widely Available in San Mateo County At the time, some health officials including Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano and Marin County Deputy Public Health Officer Dr. Lisa Santora said their counties will monitor hospitalization numbers in determining when to lift the mandate. Aug 2, 2021. State-sponsored COVID-19 testing has ended in San Mateo County. And the state now requires those without proof of vaccination attending events with more than 1,000 people to show a negative COVID-19 test within one day. The updated guidance replaces mandatory masking requirements in high-risk settings with recommendations, which are also based on the CDC COVID-19 Community Levels. A county reaches the "moderate" (yellow) tier of case rates as determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data tracker and remains there for three weeks. People have been wanting to return to a more normal lifestyle by not having to put a mask on and stay home from work, said San Mateo County District 2 Supervisor Carole Groom. He is an East Bay native who has a Master's degree in journalism from Stanford University. In workplaces, employers and employees are subject to either the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulationsor the Masks will also be mandatory for such events. Eric did his undergrad at Pomona College, where he majored in politics and minored in economics. Health officials said Monday that more changes to the state's policies will be released in the coming week. through pharmacies and free In San Francisco County, the seven-day average of new daily cases sits at 124, down from 309 on Aug. 2. In December, the health department shared additional details about exemptions which include: Local governments may have their own exemptions to the mask rule as well. to Default, About the Viral and Rickettsial Disease Lab, CDER Information for Health Professionals, Communicable Disease Emergency Response Program, DCDC Information for Local Health Departments, Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Branch, VRDL Guidelines for Specimen Collection and Submission for Pathologic Testing, State of CaliforniaHealth and Human Services Agency, en But I may keep mine on for another few months, just to feel safe and comfy.". Before resuming the masking requirement in December, California had lifted the requirement for people who were vaccinated as of June 15, a date that Newsom had described then as the state's grand reopening. We are carefully monitoring the data and will adjust health orders when safe to do so.". Finally, no person can be prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a venue or business (including schools or childcare), unless wearing a mask would pose a safety hazard. Alameda County was added to the yellow tier last week, and San Francisco joined on Monday. "I think, hopefully for now, fingers crossed, well they're definitely going in the right direction," Rutherford says of the pandemic's course. If you have household or social contact with a vulnerable person*, wearing a mask is recommended when indoors with them, There is high communityspread and impact on healthcare system of COVID-19. But certain groups including children ages 5-11 and Black, Latinx and Pacific Islander populations have vaccination rates less than 80 percent. Some downtown San Mateo workers also felt as if San Mateo County should have delayed its mask mandate termination. Health officials prep for endemic stage of COVID-19. "I think we are all hoping for a quick juncture," Stan Houston, owner of Mozart Einstein & Me in Livermore, told KPIX 5. The state's announcement follows a 65% decline in COVID cases, Newsom said.
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