California counties can resume further despite Covid Uptick

Sacramento, California (CN) —California authorities issued a green light on Tuesday to facilitate reopening efforts in seven counties, despite increasing cases and hospitalizations for new coronaviruses throughout the state. did.

With weekly updates to the state’s four-tier resumption system, state’s top doctor and governor Gavin Newsom said that while some counties in the San Francisco Bay Area continue to make progress, Los Angeles fights the new coronavirus. Announced that there is not enough improvement yet. Twenty-nine counties have been able to break out of the purple “widespread” layer since the system debuted eight weeks ago, but the most populous state in the state is the most restrictive zone until at least mid-November. Stay in.

Mark Garry, Director of Health and Welfare, California, said: Latest update Leaving only 15% of the state’s 58 counties at the bottom, he claimed that the reopening plan was definitely working.

“The county is starting to move, and the openings in various sectors are starting to grow, and the occupancy of those sectors is increasing,” Garry told reporters.

County such as Marin, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Mendoshino have improved their status and no counties have been downgraded overall, but there are increasing signs that the coronavirus could rise further in 40 million states. I will.

State-wide hospitalizations have increased by nearly 5% in the last two weeks, with the state’s 7-day positive rate (the number of positive cases of residents tested for Covid-19, an important indicator of virus community spread) at 3%. Exceeded. Weekend for the first time in almost a month. On Tuesday, the county reported 3,188 new cases and a total of 2,334 hospitalizations.

Newsom called the increase “modest,” and repeated that the state continued to have enough beds and other resources to anticipate another potential outbreak. He added that authorities are closely watching the total in anticipation of an increase in infections during the holiday season.

“You are seeing a modest increase,” admitted Newsom. “We are watching this. We are watching this carefully.”

California is the most populous state in the United States and holds the title of the most confirmed case since overtaking New York in July. But the Golden State was soon able to abandon the offensive claim: To Johns Hopkins University, California still leads with 911,000, but is behind Texas with 898,000.

Increasing number of cases and hospitalizations related to “Pandemic fatigue” Texas authorities have forced the city of El Paso to seek federal bailouts Implemented Curfew and temporary hospital.

Florida ranks third in the nation with 786,000, with New York (496,000) and Illinois (387,000) closing the top five.

Newsom also announced on Tuesday that Washington, Oregon, and Nevada will join the Coronavirus Vaccine Workgroup in California. Concerned that the Trump administration could rush to approve the vaccine, the state argues that a committee of public health experts will independently review products approved by the FDA before making them publicly available. I will.

“We believe in science, public health and safety,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee. “That’s why we’re pleased that Washington has joined California and other western states in this effort. All Covid vaccines need to be guided by the expertise of scientists and healthcare professionals, which is the workgroup. Is to do. ”

last week Newsom hinted Potential vaccines will be unavailable by the end of the year and the first batch will be reserved for the first responder and the resident at risk.In California Submit your own distribution plan The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Newsom said the state is considering a vaccine being developed by Pfizer and Moderna.

According to Newsam, the goal is not to delay distribution, but to hire the best doctors and scientists in the world before distributing new vaccines to millions of people. Meanwhile, the state continues to work with the CDC, he said.

“I think it’s foolish not to take advantage of top-notch experts in all these areas, not just the country, and push them to the fore,” said the Democratic governor.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, where more than 7,000 people have been killed by the virus, authorities are working to make quick testing more accessible to first responders and school children.

The city, county, and University of Southern California began a pilot study on the use of so-called rapid antigen testing on Tuesday. This can be done via a piece of paper and results can be achieved within minutes. Researchers hope that this test will help the district quickly identify infected students and teachers and prevent outbreaks throughout the school.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the test was a potential “game changer” in the county’s quest for continued school reopening.

“Los Angeles never escapes the challenge. We leverage our trademark creativity, innovative spirit, and strong partners with the USC and the county to pursue groundbreaking research and spread the virus. We are preventing and saving lives, “the mayor said in a statement.