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Health officials from seven Bay Area counties – Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma – on Friday urged those vaccinated to wear masks indoors again. to prevent the spread of the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus.
Officials said in a joint statement that while fully vaccinated people are well protected against developing serious illness from all variants of the coronavirus, asking everyone to wear masks indoors can help protect people. unvaccinated. A universal rule makes it easier to verify that unvaccinated people are masking themselves, officials said.
“We ask our residents to come together again in this effort to stem the increase in cases until we can assess the impact on our hospital capacity,” said Dr Susan Philip, head of health at San Francisco, in a statement.
Napa and Solano counties have not joined with other Bay Area counties in recommending masks.
The announcement follows Thursday’s statement in Los Angeles that masks will be mandatory indoors from Sunday for all people, regardless of their immunization status.
Los Angeles is the only county in California to reinstate a mask warrant since the state dropped the requirement for those vaccinated on June 15.
Yolo and Sacramento counties have also recommended that vaccinated people re-mask themselves.
A sharp increase in cases and hospitalizations, especially among unvaccinated people, has heightened concerns about the highly transmissible delta variant, now the dominant strain in California. The delta variant accounted for 43% of all specimens analyzed in California. Nationally, delta variants are responsible for 59% of new infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The Delta variant is spreading quickly and everyone should take steps to protect themselves and others from this potentially deadly virus,” said Dr Nicholas Moss, Alameda County health official.
Earlier this month, the California Capitol began requiring people to wear masks again after nine legislative staff – including four fully vaccinated people – tested positive for the virus.
And in Sonoma County, at least 59 residents of a Santa Rosa homeless shelter have tested positive for the virus, nearly half have been fully vaccinated, county health officials said.
Christina Hatcher, health education specialist for Solano Public Health, said earlier this week that the county had seen an increase in the number of cases after the July 4 holiday, mainly due to young people with vaccination rates weaker.
“As we (…) and the state monitor the spread of the delta variant in our community, we will continue to align with the state’s recommendations,” she said. “We are following emerging data and science, and will adjust our approach as needed. “
Dr Karen Relucio, head of public health in Napa County, attributed the increase in cases to July 4 and the reopening in comments earlier this week. She said that while the county is concerned about rising rates of cases, especially among those unvaccinated, hospitalizations are still low.
Therefore, the county “will not implement more restrictive masking guidelines than state guidelines,” she said.
Check back for updates.
Julie Johnson is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]
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