COVID updates: Sacramento to end mask order; will policy change at California schools?
Sacramento County plans to follow California in lifting its universal indoor mask mandate next week, as coronavirus transmission numbers fall sharply from the omicron surge.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state would allow the order requiring people to wear masks while in most indoor public places, regardless of vaccination status, to expire Feb. 16.
Unvaccinated residents will still be required to wear masks in those settings; those who are fully vaccinated will not, unless health officials have stricter rules in place at the local level.
There are some exceptions. Masks will remain mandatory regardless of vaccination status in health care settings, long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, prisons, on public transit, at K-12 campuses and at indoor “mega events” with more than 500 attendees.
“We are planning to follow the state’s lead on lifting the masking mandate,” Sacramento County health office spokeswoman Janna Haynes said in an emailed response.
California’s first mask mandate, intended to curb spread of COVID-19, ran from June 18, 2020, to June 15, 2021.
The state returned to an indoor mask requirement in December, as the extremely contagious omicron variant took hold. The temporary order was initially set to last from Dec. 15 through Jan. 15, but it was extended by a month to Feb. 15.
Sacramento County, however, has remained under a local mask order for more than six months. Dr. Olivia Kasirye re-introduced the requirement in late July due to climbing case rates caused by the delta variant. Other counties including Los Angeles, Yolo and most of the Bay Area also did so around that time.
Before the omicron variant arrived, Kasirye on multiple occasions said the county would target a daily case rate of about five per 100,000 residents before lifting the mask order, which she noted was about the rate from before the delta variant surge.
Omicron propelled the case rate nearly 50 times higher than that target, peaking at 245 per 100,000 the week ending Jan. 10.
The transmission rate has improved drastically in recent weeks, though it remains well above five per 100,000.
Sacramento County health officials reported the daily case rate Tuesday at 64 per 100,000, a 74% decline from January’s peak.
California peaked at 297 cases per 100,000 in early January but has since rebounded to 93 per 100,000, the California Department of Public Health reported Tuesday, for a 69% decline.
Statewide test positivity has fallen to 8.8% after peaking at 23% in early January. Sacramento County has fallen from 25% to 11%, according to CDPH.
California’s hospital totals also continue to drop from omicron’s peak of about 15,500 COVID-positive patients in late January, including 2,600 in intensive care units. CDPH on Tuesday reported about 10,400 virus patients hospitalized including 2,007 in ICUs.
In Sacramento County, virus hospitalizations soared to an all-time high of 657 on Jan. 25, but have since dipped to 485; ICU cases have fallen from 125 in late January to 95 by Tuesday.
“Omicron has loosened its hold on California, vaccines for children under 5 are around the corner, and access to COVID-19 treatments is improving,” Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, director of CDPH, said in a Monday statement.
“With things moving in the right direction, we are making responsible modifications to COVID-19 prevention measures, while also continuing to develop a longer-term action plan for the state.”
What else will change as mask order ends?
The state’s extra testing requirements for people visiting nursing homes during the omicron surge were allowed to expire Monday.
Newsom “is going to lay out a plan next week” regarding mask requirements at K-12 schools, chief strategist Anthony York told The Sacramento Bee.
Counties may maintain more stringent COVID-19 restrictions than the state. Los Angeles County health officials said Monday that the local mask order there will not end Feb. 16.
In the Sacramento region, Yolo County has not yet announced whether it will adjust or drop its local mask order following the state change.
County spokesman John Fout said health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson continues to evaluate the local situation, and plans to announce a decision on the local mask order before Feb. 15.
In its written order from July, the county said universal indoor masking would be required until the local case rate stays below two per 100,000 for seven straight days. CDPH on Tuesday reported Yolo County’s rate at 77 per 100,000.
The other four in the six-county capital region — El Dorado, Placer, Sutter and Yuba — do not have local mask orders in place.
Latest Sacramento-area numbers
Sacramento County has recorded 269,594 total lab-confirmed cases and 2,771 deaths from COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, according to local health officials.
The county on Tuesday reported the daily case rate at 63.5 per 100,000 residents, plummeting from an all-time high of 245 per 100,000 recorded Jan. 10.
According to CDPH, Sacramento County’s latest test positivity rate is 11.3%.
County hospitals were treating 485 patients with confirmed COVID-19 as of Monday, down from 607 one week earlier. The ICU total dropped to 95 from 106.
Placer County has tallied 59,988 cases and 540 virus deaths to date, last updated Monday.
Local health officials last reported the daily case rate at 91 per 100,000 for the week ending Jan. 29.
Placer’s positivity rate is 12.6%, CDPH reported Tuesday.
Placer County hospitals had 182 COVID-positive patients Monday, down from 194 one week earlier. The ICU tally decreased to 34 from 42.
Yolo County has confirmed 33,883 total infections and 278 deaths from COVID-19, last updated Monday.
The county’s latest reported case rate is 147 per 100,000, for the week ending Feb. 1.
CDPH reported Yolo County’s positivity rate at 2.8%, the lowest among all of the state’s 58 counties.
Yolo County hospitals were treating 18 patients with COVID-19 on Monday, down from 24 one week earlier. The ICU count ticked up to six from five.
El Dorado County has reported 25,550 cumulative cases and 189 deaths from COVID-19, last updated Monday.
El Dorado’s latest reported case rate, for the week ending Jan. 31, was 50 per 100,000.
The county had a positivity rate of 11.7%, CDPH reported Tuesday.
Hospitals in El Dorado County had 25 COVID-positive patients Monday, up from 18 a week earlier. The ICU total held at five.
Sutter County has recorded 21,269 cases and 211 deaths, and Yuba County has recorded 16,711 cases with 98 deaths, according to a Thursday update from the bi-county health office.
CDPH reported Yuba County at 92 daily cases per 100,000 and Sutter County at 80 per 100,000 as of Tuesday. Positivity was 20.1% in Yuba and 17.3% in Sutter.
The lone hospital serving Yuba and Sutter counties, Adventist Health and Rideout in Marysville, as of Monday had 55 patients with confirmed COVID-19, down from 89 a week earlier. The ICU total increased to 13 from 11.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 10:03 AM.
