COVID Update, California Moves Beyond The Blueprint

Mariposa County Public Health

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California’s coronavirus restrictions on social distancing and limits on capacity at restaurants, bars, supermarkets, and gyms are gone for what could be a close to normal summer for many Americans.

The State Public Health Officer issued a new public health order effective today superseding all prior health orders. Public health measures will stay for indoor concerts, sporting events or other large gatherings of more than 5,000 people. Attendees of those “mega-events” will have to show proof that they are vaccinated or have a recent negative COVID-19 test. Outdoor event organizers expecting more than 10,000 people are “strongly encouraged” to do the same.

The new order has guidance for settings serving children and youth pending an expected update to the K-12 schools guidance by the CDC. All of the new orders can be found here: https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/

Fully vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks in most places, but those who are unvaccinated are expected to, but it won’t be enforced. Businesses have three choices: operate on an honor system, require customers to show proof of vaccination or require everyone to cover their face. Masks are still required in places like public transit, airports, health care settings and indoor school classes.

The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board will consider updating its face-covering rules on Thursday, June 17 to better align with the state and federal guidance. Any update to the rules for workplaces, if voted on by the board, will go into effect around June 28. In the meantime, the protections adopted in November of 2020 remain in effect. More information on the ETS for workplaces can be found at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/coronavirus/ETS.html

Gov. Newsom celebrated the state having one of the lowest rates of infection in the country, below 1%, from Universal Studios Hollywood attributing the dramatic drop in infections with the number of residents vaccinated. The reopening celebration accompanied the grand finale of the lottery for 10 winners who will get $1.5 million each for getting vaccinated. As detailed here Gov. Newsom will host drawings for six vacation packages on July 1 in hopes of increasing tourism.

Tuolumne County — Tuolumne County Public Health sadly reported a 60-year-old male who was hospitalized passed away due to Covid yesterday and today they report it has been confirmed that another male resident of the county also in his 60s passed away out of the county in May due to Covid. There are a total of 71 deaths attributed to Covid in Tuolumne County.

There are nine new cases to report, one over the weekend, three on Monday and five today, Tuesday. Yesterday’s cases are a man and a woman age 18 to 29, and two women age 50 to 59, today it is one girl under 17 one woman age 18 to 29 a mand and a woman avge 40 to 49 and a woman age 60 to 69. None of the individuals were vaccinated. A total of 10 cases are isolating, none are hospitalized. As part of ongoing data analysis and auditing, Tuolumne Public Health says they identified four cases among prison staff who were incorrectly reported as prison inmate cases and ten prison inmate cases that were not reported to the public during the late 2020 surge of infections. Tuolumne County has a total of 4,199 cases split between 2,776 community cases and 1,423 Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) inmate cases. The California Department of Corrections reports no active cases. Last week (Friday to Friday) there were 12 new cases reported and 9 released from isolation.

Total community cases released from isolation is 2,696 and the total number of tests administered is 100,610. The county reports 20,073 fully vaccinated residents and 3,589 individuals partially vaccinated.

The California Department of Public Health issued its final tier placement today and Tuolumne County closes out the blueprint in the Orange Tier or Moderate risk level. There will be no further updates on tier placement. Clarke Broadcasting plans weekly updates on Covid numbers on Saturdays.

Calaveras County – Judy Hawkins, Deputy CAO/Risk & Human Resources Director County of Calaveras, states as soon as the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopts revisions, a revised County Coronavirus Protection Plan (CPP) will be sent to all employees informing them of the changes. Hawkins released clarification on face coverings guidelines and protections for Calaveras County Employees and visitors stating “Cal/OSHA has not changed their Emergency Temporary Standards at this time” noting their rules govern the County’s workplace safety practices. The county’s Coronavirus Protection Plan (CPP) aligns with Cal/OSHA and still requires employees to wear a face covering, unless in a room alone, socially distance by staying 6 feet away (even if you are vaccinated) and disinfect high touch areas on a regular basis.

The Calaveras public health reported yesterday one new case since Friday, today the numbers did not change with the county’s total Covid cases at 2,201. Active cases decreased two to four total and recoveries increased three to 2,141 total. No Calaveras residents are hospitalized with Covid. The total number of people over 65 years old identified with Covid is 455 since the pandemic began. Calaveras reports 35,904 vaccinations given. Last week (Friday to Friday) there were 7 new cases reported and 11 released from isolation.

Vaccines – Tuolumne Public Health says “We have seen the effectiveness of the vaccines in reducing the burden of disease and we thank everyone involved in the tremendous effort to help protect our residents through the COVID vaccinations. As we see new and expanding variants of the virus, against which the vaccines are showing effectiveness, we continue to encourage our community to get vaccinated if they have not done so already. We also encourage everyone to continue to practice other preventive health measures such as washing hands frequently, wearing a mask when indicated, and staying home if feeling sick to help keep themselves, their loved ones, and our community safe and healthy. Our individual actions are now even more important as we move beyond the blueprint and more activities open up.”

Upcoming Covid clinics in Tuolumne are June 16, and in Groveland June 18. In Tuolumne, Calaveras, and Mariposa schedule an appointment for a Covid vaccine by going to myturn.ca.gov. You can also call 833-422-4255 if you don’t have an email (Mon to Fri 8 AM to 8 PM, Sat and Sun 8 AM-5 PM) for assistance. More about the Calaveras Vaccination Van is here. Vaccine eligibility is open to everyone 12+ (Pfizer) and 18+ (Moderna and Johnson & Johnson)  More information about the vaccines is here.

Testing – Sonora’s Covid testing is at the Tuolumne Memorial Hall. The hours are Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 7 AM to 7 PM. The Groveland testing site remains open at the Youth Center, 18950 Hwy 120 on Thursdays from 7 AM to 7 PM. Due to low utilization and reopening of the youth center, this location will likely be relocated soon. Individuals can select the site location when making their appointment at www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 888-634-1123. More details are in our events calendar here.