Santa Cruz County imposes indoor mask obligations amid unvaccinated surge – CBS San Francisco

Santa Cruz (BCN) – Health officials in Santa Cruz County have highlighted a new indoor mask duty ghost on Thursday as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to increase locally.

As with most other jurisdictions, the county’s current cases and waves of hospitalization are being disproportionately driven by unvaccinated residents. ..

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County Health Officer Dr. Gale Newell said in a virtual briefing that the number of new cases in the county has increased tenfold in recent weeks, starting at 0-4 cases per day in May, June and early July. He said that he is currently swelling to about 30 cases. Per day.

Newell also found that the new case waves have different characteristics than the previous waves, with the majority of new cases among the northern counties of the more mountainous areas, Caucasian residents, and people aged 25-50 years. Said it was happening. Other age groups need to wear a face that covers the room and be vaccinated.

“If our healthcare system becomes more burdensome, we may need to order locally due to forced masking and other businesses and other restrictions,” says Newell. “We want not to do this, but we expect the community to follow the recommendations.”

Newell did not want the county to be “distracted” by the obligation of the new indoor mask, as the counties of Los Angeles and the Bay Area have already done, and insisted on subsequent backlash and difficult enforcement. ..

She added that people who are currently predominantly infected with the virus, that is, unvaccinated residents, are unlikely to respect it, even if she issues a new mask obligation.

“I don’t think orders will necessarily change the behavior of the population,” Newel said. “If I order, I think the same people who aren’t wearing masks now will probably not.”

When considering a mask mandate, Newell said he would consider a stable Los Angeles County hospitalization about three weeks after issuing such a mandate.

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Of the approximately 68% of fully vaccinated county residents aged 12 and over, county deputy health officer Dr. David Ghilarducci is impatient and frustrated with the suspension of the remaining vaccines that are causing the current surge. I admitted.

Ghilarducci said many supporters among the people targeted for the vaccine suffer from false information about both the virus and the three available vaccines, but remain unvaccinated. The shortcomings of this will continue to become apparent over time.

“I often feel the same,” Girarducci said of his impatience with holdouts. “But we need to take a step back and take a deep breath and understand that there are many complex reasons why people did not have the opportunity to be vaccinated and stay patient.”

The surge in cases and hospitalizations weighs heavily on health care workers, county officials said. Health providers have beds, ventilators, and other necessary equipment, but may not currently have staff to properly care for all patients.

In addition to the increase in COVID-19 patients in hospital, Ghilarducci said local hospitals are also taking care of patients who have simply postponed medical care for the past 18 months.

“Our health care workers, especially our hospitals, have gone through cruel years and they are still trying to recover from it,” he said. “People are on leave. Too many people have resigned from healthcare. That’s just putting a lot of strain on the system.”

As of Thursday, 17,272 COVID-19 cases, including 209 deaths, have been identified throughout the county. Two of those deaths were reported on Monday. This is the county’s first COVID-related death since May.

Approximately 687 known viral cases remain active in Santa Cruz County.

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