Here you go:
Those of us who live in places where COVID is not running rampant are grateful for that fact. We would really like it if our fellow Californians would not keep trying to kill the rest of us. The Republican frontrunner in the failed recall had pledged to repeal all mandates for masks, vaccines and any other mitigation requirements. No thanks.
According to the CDC’s color-coded map, all the other states have fallen back into the worst category, red, as California advances to the second-highest risk category, orange, along with Puerto Rico. Ahead of the latest wave of infections in July, the state was classified as yellow, indicating a lower level of transmission classified as “moderate.” In June, it was blue, which signals “low” virus spread.
Pan credited widespread adaptation of health orders and California’s impressive vaccination rate — about 68% of the state’s residents are now fully vaccinated — as factors in driving case rates down in the face of delta.
“Our mitigation measures, like masking, are going to work regardless of the variant,” Pan said during a roundtable discussion with medical professionals on Tuesday.
The United States as a whole remains at a “high” level of community transmission, according to the CDC, with a seven-day average of 248 new cases per 100,000 — more than two times higher than the threshold of 100 cases for the classification. To reach the “substantial” category, average case rates must dip between 50 and 99 per 100,000.
California reported an average of 9,281 cases a day for the seven-day period that ended Tuesday, compared to about 13,400 cases a day two weeks ago. Los Angeles County did not report any cases over the weekend due to a planned technical outage.
There are 6,810 people hospitalized with a confirmed case statewide, a 18.4% decrease over the same time period, according to an analysis of data provided by the state health department by The Chronicle.
Thanks Gavin!
This could change, of course. As we know, the virus is extremely contagious and unless everyone is vaccinated, community spread can happen even in places that are doing the right things. But there is little likelihood that we’ll be as bad as Florida or Mississippi because our government is willing to institute mandates. We’re all wearing masks inside buildings again and I don’t see a lot of complaints about it. It’s a small price to pay to be able to live our lives without terror that we’re going to get the virus or spread it to some kids or other who are immunocompromised.