San Francisco followed the Covid rules. Will Omicron change the playbook?

San Francisco — For two years, San Francisco was a kid on a pandemic poster. When Covid-19 hit, the city was one of the first cities in the country to declare a state of emergency.

Masks have been at risk since April 2020. The vaccination rate is one of the highest in the world. The city closed its indoor dining when the very popular In-N-Out Burger Stand at Fisherman’s Wharf refused to ask customers for evidence of vaccination. “In-N-Out (side)”, City Health Department Was scolded by a tweet..

It doesn’t matter: On Wednesday, health officials confirmed that an Omicron variant of the coronavirus had arrived in the United States. The first known case was San Francisco.. Infected individuals who said authorities had self-isolated and participated in active contact tracing noticed symptoms after the variant returned from South Africa, where it was first identified.

Cities that have been leading the country on coronavirus alerts are now preparing to hunt down. Also. Maybe more difficult.

“We were thinking of traveling again in the spring,” he said, avoiding crowds, restaurants, and unvaccinated people except her 15-year-old, who haven’t met European relatives since the pandemic began. Retired Linda Wolman, 67, sighed. One month old grandson.

“Now I think we’ll just lie low, or lie down. If that’s possible.”

This week, rumors spread that a new variant had arrived in California, confirming the inevitability of cases elsewhere, and health officials prepared for pandemic fatigue across the country.

By Thursday morning The second case was reported in MinnesotaA resident who recently traveled to a New York anime convention, suggesting that the variant had already begun to circulate.

Omicron has more than 50 gene mutations, and in theory, it is more contagious than previous variants and may be less vulnerable to the body’s immune defenses. Vaccines available may provide substantial protection against serious illness and death after infection by the mutant, but many remain unknown.

Most of the mutations are in the peplomer of the virus targeted by existing vaccines. Federal authorities are asking vaccinated people to get booster shots, and two of the most effective vaccine makers, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are ready to re-prescribe shots as needed. doing.

However Remains unknown Whether Omicron modifies the anti-coronavirus playbook. Health guidance may be enhanced if new variants are found to be more contagious than, for example, the Delta subspecies, officials said.

Dr. Bob Wachter, a professor and director of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said: San Francisco, California. “Psychologically, if it takes a month to prepare for a retreat, you need to be prepared for that possibility.”

It can be difficult. The options that government officials have to control the spread of the virus have proven to be politically restricted in this country, even when the community is exposed to restrictions. For example, California’s health measures not only saved countless lives, but also helped facilitate this year’s recall efforts against Governor Gavin Newsom.

Oroville, a town in Butte County, in the countryside at the northern end of the state Recently declared myself “Constitutional republic”, an almost symbolic move to protest pandemic orders.However 49 percent of the county’s inhabitants Fully vaccinated More than double the case Per 100,000 people than San Francisco.

“Every step in applying a new or stricter rule involves a blowback,” said Dr. Wachter.

After the identification of a variant of Omicron in the United States, President Biden extended the mask requirements for buses, trains and planes until mid-March. Insurance reimbursement provided In addition to coronavirus testing at home, for better access to those tests for uninsured people. Dr. Anthony S. Forch, the president’s chief medical adviser, recommended that Americans use the vaccine.

“There are 60 million unvaccinated people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated,” said Dr. Fauci. “Let them vaccinate. Get people vaccinated and boosted. Let your children get vaccinated.”

Even in California, that was the message. Newsam said he didn’t expect to resume shelter-in-place orders or classroom closures at a press conference in the Central Valley, where the virus is rampant as vaccine resistance continues. Travelers from countries designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still much depends on the behavior of individual Californians, he said: for example, whether they pay attention to his repeated urgent calls to get vaccinations and booster shots, and Whether they take other precautions, such as defending Maskman Date.

“It’s important for people to understand that we have an agency,” said the governor. “People have prospered with these vaccines.”

Due to the widespread discovery of Omicron variants among the inhabitants of San Francisco, many were less “prosperous” than resigning to the city’s literal lifestyle.Before the varieties appeared, the city Robust public rebuke The mayor caught on Instagram on the indoor dance floor without a mask.

Edrin Crofcorn, an 85-year-old mother on dialysis and a fifth grader who had just been vaccinated for the second time on Sunday, wondered if her family’s life would return to its former normal state.

“They have to start vaccination to other countries,” she said, “this will never end,” she picked up her son from the St. Cecilia School in the city’s West Portal district.

At the Ferry Building, a food hall and marketplace in San Francisco Bay, people eating on the outdoor patio were worried about new financial turmoil.

“We hope to maintain the flexibility we have and keep our business open,” said Business Analyst, a biotechnology company that went out to decompress with a color sheet and a bowl of butternut squash soup. List, Evelyn Arevalo said.

Allen Cooper, 53, who flew from Denver to San Francisco last week to meet a Bay Area-based colleague, wondered what this meant for his return to work on January 18. We have to adapt again, “Cooper said.

Dale Parker (62) has health restrictions, with Christmas tree lighting at Civic Center Plaza requiring vaccinations for city officials in VIP tents and encouraging masks in an outdoor crowd of hundreds of spectators. Said he was tired.

He said he is now accustomed to the complex risk calculations he made before deciding to go to a festive gathering — the number of people, how far they are, the city case rate, he. The fact that he was vaccinated — but he is fed up with the restrictions San Francisco is facing, such as the obligation to use indoor masks for public spaces in San Francisco.

“I think people should have choices,” he said.

28-year-old Alisabat stood on the outskirts of the crowd wearing a red Santa hat. I tried to immerse myself in the mood of the holiday while minimizing the risk. Not only was she worried about the Omicron variant, she said she was “trying to escape” from thinking about it.

Dr. Wachter, a fellow of San Franciscan, echoed many of his neighbors and pointed out that the Delta mutant is much more likely to infect him than the Omicron mutant, at least for the next few weeks. bottom. He said he plans to maintain the current level of precautionary measures.

“If you decide to go to an indoor restaurant, your risk is the same as last week,” he said.