Half Of California’s Inhabitants Shifting Again To Masking Indoors – Deadline

Health officials in seven Bay Area counties have asked residents to mask themselves in public again as Covid-19 infections rise across the state.

On Friday afternoon, health officials in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma counties, and the city of Berkeley recommended that “everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places.” to ensure a simple check that all unvaccinated persons are masked in these settings. “

In addition, the county’s announcement states: “Companies are urged to introduce universal masking requirements for customers entering the interior of their company in order to provide better protection for their employees and customers. Workplaces must meet Cal / OSHA requirements and fully vaccinated employees are encouraged to wear masks indoors if their employer has not confirmed the vaccination status of those around them. “

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BREAKING: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma counties, and the city of Berkeley recommend indoor masking for everyone as a precaution against the increased spread of COVID-19: https://t.co / nkBirSpHKc pic.twitter.com/HshbquRO6D

– Healthy SCC (@HealthySCC) July 16, 2021

The move comes a day after Los Angeles, Yolo, and Sacramento issued similar guidelines. Collectively, the counties represent about half of California’s 39 million residents.

“This is a moment when everyone on deck is working,” said Dr. Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County Health Officer. “We see that prices are rising too high. We all have to do our part to prevent us from doing anything else. “

The Bay Area counties return to masking restrictions comes on the same day the number of new cases in California rose by more than 1,000, from 3,611 on Thursday to 4,651 on Friday. The last time the state saw such a one-day surge was March 2nd, according to State Tracking. The last time the number of new cases a day topped 4,600 was on February 22nd.

While the county health officials take action, California Governor Gavin Newsom has largely kept quiet about the spike in Covid cases. Newsom, facing a recall election, has touted the state with new initiatives because of the state’s massive budget surplus. He likes to say from the podium that California “roars back”. Unfortunately, his assessment applies not only to the country’s positive budgetary position, but also to its Covid-19 infection rates.

Newsom asked itself only a few questions about Covid in the past week, despite its numerous appearances. When he signed the state budget at a political campaign-style event, he did not answer any questions. Even the governor’s latest messages on Twitter did not deal with the rapid increase in cases, but rather urged the Californians to “get vaccinated”. Good advice, say infectious disease experts.

The closely observed 7-day average test positive rate and the cases per 100,000 both increase. On July 4, the average 7-day test positive rate was 1.8%. It has since more than doubled to 3.7% on Friday. Likewise, the case rate per 100,000 in California rose from 4.2 on July 4th to 5.4 on Friday. The numbers are worrying not only because they suggest a surge in infections, but also because such a surge is difficult to stop once it starts.

When Governor Newsom reopened the state on June 15, he put aside his Blueprint for a Safer Economy Framework, which dictated how wide counties could be opened based on key Covid metrics, including test positivity and cases per 100,000. If that frame were still in place, California would no longer be in its yellow or minimal tier, but on the other side of the orange or middle tier, teetering on the edge of the red or major tier. That’s based on the state’s current case rate of 5.4 per 100,000. The state’s largest city, Los Angeles, announced numbers Thursday that would qualify them for that red tier, i.e. the mask mandate.

Newsom’s office declined media inquiries to meet the new mask requirements.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s spokesman declines to comment on Los Angeles County’s new mask mandate and whether he is considering a similar arrangement for the state https://t.co/QSZBPDgdVa

– Alexei Koseff (@akoseff) July 15, 2021