
County, we’re still averaging about one, one and a half recorded new deaths a day,” Ferrer said.

During the pandemic’s first winter, hospital morgues were so overwhelmed the National Guard was called in to help transport corpses.īut thanks to effective vaccines, the development of anti-COVID therapeutic drugs like Paxlovid and years of built-up community immunity from prior infections, the risk of dying from or becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 is now much lower - making more forceful interventions such as mask mandates unnecessary. Health officials say the sweeping actions mandated by government officials earlier in the pandemic were aimed at keeping hospitals from being so overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients that doctors would be forced to ration care - a fear that came close to reality before vaccines were widely available. The number could very well rise over time, since deaths are a lagging indicator of coronavirus spread, but the fact that it hasn’t yet so far is notable. County is recording an average of one death a day from COVID-19, a number that has remained stable despite the increase in coronavirus circulation. The Huntington Beach City Council voted to ban implementing COVID-19 vaccine and mask requirements in the city.įerrer noted that L.A. "It’s just good to be back."īrooks Jarosz is an investigative reporter for KTVU.California Despite uptick in infections, Huntington Beach moves to ban COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates

"I couldn’t be happier to know that I get to meet and interact with people and see their smiles," Nicole Walters who was visiting San Francisco from Los Angeles said.
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That’s providing some tourists new confidence, especially as restrictions are loosened, sports are in full swing, and live performances are back. While the virus may forever be living among us, doctors stress that tools to predict and protect against future variants will allow life to return to a sense of normalcy. Instead, it’s back to school, back to the office and back to shopping at actual stores. Gone are the days of empty booths and take-out dinners. "We’re obviously not there yet, but it is going in the right direction." "We’re starting to crawl back," general manager Kurt Niver said. I totally believe everybody ought to be vaccinated."ĭoctors say vaccines have saved countless lives, and while breakthrough cases are possible, symptoms tend to be milder and hospitalizations less likely.īay Area health officials loosened masking rules and eliminated capacity requirements at stores and restaurants over the past several weeks.Īfter shuttering for more than a year, San Francisco staple, Tadich Grill, is one of many restaurants back in business. "I never want anyone to go through what I went through," said Wallace. He said he miraculously won his battle with the virus. In April 2020, before vaccines were available, Fresno pastor Mark Wallace was on a ventilator for weeks. While doctors say new variants will emerge indicating the virus is not going away, expanded testing, new treatments, and masking in large congregate settings is proving to better defend against serious viral spread.ĭata shows most hospitalizations with COVID-19 are among the unvaccinated or those with underlying medical conditions. Resources, funding, and priority was devoted to the homeless, farmworkers, and those living in low-income neighborhoods, with a goal to limit infections.

"This pandemic really magnified the differences and disparities and really impacted people who didn’t have choices," Pan said. "We have a lot more immunity under our belts so that is really helping keep people out of the hospital and dying."īut over the course of the pandemic, gaps in public health were exposed, especially surrounding the most vulnerable including seniors, minority groups, and essential workers. "Vaccination is the most important thing," state epidemiologist Dr. With a holiday omicron surge behind us, doctors and experts say that mass vaccination is what we must strive for moving forward. No one dared go anywhere without a tightly secured mask and everywhere you looked there were bold reminders about social distancing.īut, two years later, California health officials now say that the development of new tools and strategies will prevent future lockdowns, mask mandates and restrictions.

What seemed like something out of science fiction movie, was quickly becoming the new normal for millions. Patrick’s Day – that six of the nine Bay Area counties swiftly enacted shelter-in-place orders, becoming the first region in the nation to effectively put people on lock-down in their homes.Įven driving, for non-essential workers, was banned at certain hours of the day.
