Sacramento-area health official warns of COVID spread, encourages precautions
Officials in West Sacramento and Yolo County are warning of another potential spread of COVID-19 and are urging residents to take precautions.
Yolo County Health and Human Services found high levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in Sacramento and West Sacramento while emergency department visits for fever and cough are increasing at levels that reflect a “broader summer COVID-19 wave” throughout California, according to a Yolo County news release.
Dr. Aimee Sisson, Yolo County’s health officer, recommends most people over 2 years old should wear masks around others to safeguard against the spread.
“California is experiencing a summer COVID wave,” Sisson said. “Based on current wastewater levels of the virus that causes COVID-19, I recommend that everybody in West Sacramento wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces.
“I also recommend that people in the rest of Yolo County wear masks when they are around others indoors if they are 65 or older, have a weakened immune system, have an underlying medical condition that puts them at a greater risk of severe COVID-19, or spend time around people who fall into these categories.”
The increase of SARS-CoV-2 — the strain of the respiratory coronavirus known to cause COVID-19 — has led to California, Washington and Oregon partnering to institute their own COVID vaccine recommendations while saying U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining scientific integrity and making mass firings at the Center for Disease Control.
A new strain of COVID, called “Stratus,” has been discovered to be spreading throughout the Western United States while students are returning to school from summer break.
In May, the CDC estimated the variant accounted for less than 3% of the infections in the U.S., but it grew to 74% of COVID cases during a four-week period that ended Saturday.
Those looking to make vaccination appointments can go to the California Department of Public Health’s website; retail pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, Ride Aid and Safeway; and health clinics like Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, UC Davis Health, Dignity Health and Mercy Medical Group.
