Orange County is ready to make COVID-19 Yellow Tier

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Orange County was ready to graduate from Orange to the least restrictive yellow layer on Monday in the state’s COVID-19 Economic Resumption Plan by Wednesday.

Frank Kim, CEO of Orange County, told City News Service about the COVID-19 indicator on Monday.

“Based on our unofficial calculations because we have to wait for state guidance tomorrow,” Kim said the county is eligible to reopen in the yellow layer on Wednesday.

As of Sunday, when the state calculated the weekly average, the county case rate per 100,000 inhabitants was 1.5. The state publishes a weekly average on Tuesday.

The overall positive rate for the county is .09%, which is the most affected by the pandemic in areas with low socioeconomics.

“Our numbers look really good,” said Orange County supervisor Lisa Bartlett. “We don’t seem to be concerned about variants now, as we seem to be improving day by day … but we haven’t reached 70% herd immunity in Orange County yet. That herd immunity. There are still about 700,000 people to reach. “

On Monday, the county reported only 39 newly diagnosed COVID-19 infections, increasing the cumulative number of cases to 254,783.

The number of inpatients decreased from 82 on Sunday to 79 on Monday, and the number of patients in the intensive care unit decreased from 23 to 13.

Bartlett said until June 15 to meet federal guidance that people who were fully vaccinated with COVID-19 no longer needed to wear face covers, except in crowded areas such as buses and planes. He said he understood the state’s newly announced decision to wait. The June date is the date on which state authorities are expected to lift most virus-related restrictions if the current positive trends continue.

“I think every state has to decide what’s right for them,” Bartlett said. “In certain parts of the country, people have problems vaccination, but in other parts of the country, like California, they’re doing much better across the state, but with great care. That’s probably why we want to wait another month, especially since all the variants are swirling. “

Bartlett said it makes sense to see the impact on infection rates as social distance restrictions are relaxed.

“The state is watching what’s happening as the county opens up more economies,” she said. “It may show what could happen on June 15th when we open things up across the state and we deviate from Tier’s methodology.”

Bartlett said California is a tourist attraction and there are concerns that more visitors will arrive in more contagious variants.

“We need to be very cautious and relax the obligations of the mask and watch this very carefully,” she said. “Hopefully things will continue on the current path they are on.”

Bartlett said he knew many members who wanted to keep wearing masks for the time being, and said it was important to respect everyone’s tastes.

Currently, some residents are worried that if they see their faces covered, they may assume that they are infected with COVID-19 even if they have been vaccinated. She said.

“It’s about personal choice and personal freedom,” Bartlett said. “And people should make them feel more comfortable, and if they feel more comfortable wearing masks, they should.”

Katrina Foley, supervisor of Orange County, said it makes sense to maintain the mask rules for now.

“I think we should keep following the California Department of Health,” Foley told City News Service. “We don’t have herd immunity yet. We did a great job, but we still have something to do. There are still about 700,000 people in need of vaccination.

“You need to wear a mask even when you’re in a crowd. Also, people you don’t know because you don’t know if a crowded shopping center, concert venue, sporting event, indoors, or someone else is vaccinated. Even if you are in the office around

Foley said the CDC Guidance offers many exemptions for public transport and air travel.

Andrew Do and Don Wagner, chairman of the Orange County Supervisory Board, have issued a statement calling on the state to immediately lift the mask rules for fully vaccinated residents.

“Orange County has been ahead of the curve throughout the pandemic,” Do said in a news release. “In the early days of the crisis, Orange County responded swiftly and effectively. We first declared a local health emergency early in COVID-19 on February 26, 2020. ..

“In late March 2020, I began advising residents to wear face covers, stay socially distant, and wash their hands frequently. Today, our vaccination coverage is higher than in the surrounding counties. Is also excellent. “

“This is a testament to the people of Orange County. Since the pandemic, they have acted responsibly, protecting themselves, their families, and the wider community. The board is equally responsible. And directed health resources, especially to some of the most devastated areas in my area. The effort paid off. Now the state is vaccinated according to science and government advice. We must acknowledge the success of the Orange County by canceling the residents’ mask mandate. “

Wagner agreed.

“The state has almost failed to respond appropriately to the disease since the launch of COVID,” Wagner said in a news release. “It did not focus its efforts on our most endangered citizens, but closed the school for the disadvantages of our children, and for almost every area of ​​life.

“During that time, the supervisory board worked hard to help the struggling SMEs survive, with hundreds of millions of dollars directed to secure hospital PPE. The state turned to science and was unnecessary. Relaxing such restrictions is a thing of the past. Freedom from mask mandates throughout the state gives people another reason to be vaccinated. “

“There are many warnings in the CDC guidance that my colleagues have ignored,” Foley said. “It’s a warning that you need to wear a mask, even in crowded areas, public transport, planes, etc.”

Foley agrees that a fully vaccinated person should have the freedom not to wear a mask when around other vaccinated people.

“I did that,” she said. “I had a good night with my family and friends. I didn’t have to wear a mask because everyone was vaccinated. It was very pleasant. But there was herd immunity around strangers. I will continue to wear the mask until I get it. “

“It’s especially important because it’s an international community,” Foley said. You need to worry about variants. The Orange County supervisor was the last person to support wearing a mask and is now the first to say that he will take it off. “

Foley also criticized Wagner and Doe for criticizing the state.

“I don’t know why they did that when we were trying to build a relationship with the state,” Foley said. “There are numerous funding requests to support our critical infrastructure. We are doing a great job of immunizing people. It’s coming soon. Please wait. Always poke a bear. What is your motivation? “

Andrew Neumer, a professor of artificial health and disease prevention at the University of California, Irvine, said differences in federal and state announcements about masks make things difficult to track.

“I’m having a hard time tracking it all and paying close attention to it, so I think it’s definitely a problem,” Neumer told City News Service.

Epidemiologists said they didn’t understand why the state wanted to wait another month to follow the guidance of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“What will change on June 15th? I’m not sure,” Neumer said. “It seems almost academic whether to start now or from June 15th.”

Neumer advocates giving Californians a summer mask break.

“I think what people have to understand, as in practice, is that even if they are vaccinated, they are not going to wear masks for 36 consecutive months,” Neumer said. I did.

“They aren’t going to do that. Giving people a few months of beach vacation is justified, as it were, because they’re called back to their combat stations in the winter, as I would expect. “

Neumer said he expects temperatures to drop further in the fall and winter, with more residents returning to more indoor activities and in some cases even higher. By giving the population a break, Neumer said, it will be easier to cover the population again when the infection increases again.

“You said the vaccine works, but why can’t you throw away the mask? I think it’s fair,” he said.

According to weekly state data released every Tuesday, the average daily case rate for counties per 100,000 people improved from 2.4 last Tuesday to 1.8 last week. The overall test positive rate increased from 1.3% to 1%, and the county health inequal quartile, which measures the positive rate of hotspots in disadvantaged communities, decreased from 1.4% to 1.2%.

After graduating from the yellow layer, many companies such as movie theaters and gyms will be able to participate in more people. Museums, zoos and aquariums can be opened with 100% capacity, and for the first time bars and distilleries can be opened indoors.

The county reported 4,469 tests and increased the cumulative to 3,808,408. The 7-day average of the test was 277.6 per 100,000.

The three deaths recorded this weekend increased the death toll to 5,031.

Only one death was reported this month. The death toll in April was 38.

The death toll in March was 180, February was 580, the worst pandemic month was January with 1,536, and the next worst month was December with 931.

Orange County is ready to make COVID-19 Yellow Tier Last changed: May 17, 2021 Along Contribution Editor

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