No indoor mask obligation for county COVID updates, despite being prompted by local doctors and hospitals

San Diego County’s weekly COVID-19 update continued to recommend indoor masking, but did not reach local obligations at the request of local doctors and hospitals earlier this week. ..

On Monday, the San Diego and Imperial County Hospital Association and the San Diego County Medical Association told local public health officer Dr. Wilma Uten to track other California metropolitan cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco indoors. I am completely vaccinated to cover my mouth. Experts say the move helps curb the spread of delta mutants, especially as evidence shows that even fully vaccinated ones can infect the virus.

In her weekly COVID-19 communiqué sent Wednesday night, Uten was vaccinated by the State Health Department, while masks were technically required indoors for all unvaccinated people. We strongly recommend such measures for, but state that they are not required. In the real world, it’s a difficult rule to enforce because there is no easy way for the owner to determine at a glance who has the shot and who does not.

In a statement that did not directly respond to requests from medical societies and hospital associations, Uten revealed that she believed that masking was important.

“Regardless of vaccination status, indoor masking adds a layer of protection and reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection,” Uten said.

A county representative on Wednesday stated whether the director of public health was unable to discuss her decision or if she was still pondering the issue.

Hospital Association and Medical Society staff did not immediately respond to the lack of more robust language from the region’s highest public health authorities.

The numbers show that San Diego County continues to post higher coronavirus numbers than where indoor masks are obligatory.Differences in the underlying demographics mean that such comparisons are by no means perfect, but of the California Public Health Service. COVID-Tracking site Lists San Diego County on a 7-day average of 36.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 26.6 in Los Angeles and 17.6 in San Francisco.

Wednesday’s COVID-19 update shows no signs that the local pandemic is settling down. The number of new cases per day on Tuesday and Wednesday exceeded 1,300, and hospitals continue to increase the total COVID-19 census per day. According to the latest report, the number of Tuesdays is 686, nearly 100 more than the 599 mentioned in last week’s report.

The numbers are still much higher, much lower than the height reached in mid-January, following the surge in COVID-19 on holidays in the region.

However, as in recent weeks, healthcare facilities continue to say that staff shortages are testing facility resilience, coupled with an increase in out-of-season illnesses and injuries not associated with COVID.

The University of California, San Diego, which operates major medical centers in La Jolla and Hillcrest, said late last week that it postponed 10 cases to help thinly spread medical staff keep up with demand. Health care provider CEO Patty Macent said Wednesday that there is no need to delay further this week, but it’s hard to say if it will continue as the weekend approaches.

“It’s done every day, every hour, to secure a bed and, more importantly, to have staff to handle the amount of surgery,” says Macent.

She added that she and others are seeking a third dose from front-line healthcare professionals, based on the number of breakthrough cases recently observed in the UCSD Health workforce. The Biden administration said last week that booster shots would be approved for those whose last shot was eight months before September 20th. But Macent said he believed that a third dose would be justified early for those who treat the patient directly. Many of those people on her staff hit the eight-month mark on September 7, she said.

“For me, there’s nothing more important than giving a booster to the team,” Macent said. “Based on what we saw in the groundbreaking case, we believe we need to give them that third shot to keep them in the workforce, and we’re working hard to make that happen. We are working on. “

She said her concern was not that the workers themselves would go to the hospital. Vaccines have so far demonstrated a lasting ability to prevent serious illness. However, contract workers, in particular, generally leave for states such as Florida and Texas, which pay large bonuses to handle surges that fill the facility, so even in mild cases, workers Enough to stay home when urgently needed.