San Mateo County is eliminating mask requirements in healthcare and high-risk settings after California state medical officials issued revised guidance that goes into effect Monday, April 3, and after state and local public health emergency orders ended on February 28.
Facilities will make their own mask-wearing decisions for their operations, which they will share with staff, patients and visitors. Additionally, a person who tests positive can end isolation after five days if they feel well, have improved symptoms and have no fever for 24 hours.
According to a message issued by Louise Rogers, head of San Mateo County HealthMarch marked three years since the start of public health actions to mitigate COVID-19 at the local and state levels, whose infection risk levels are currently moderate.
“Virus concentration levels have been lower than recent winter peaks – November through January – but are still higher than a year ago. While vaccines continue to protect most from severe disease, there are 20 to 30 people hospitalized per day with COVID. The number of deaths this winter was significantly lower than the previous two,” Rogers said.
And as the last school-based vaccination clinics for populations that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 wrap up, people can continue to access vaccines through health care providers and pharmacies.
“California and the federal government have taken steps to maintain vaccination coverage for people enrolled in Medi-Cal, a commercial insurance plan, or Medicare. As of March 22, 2023, approximately 262,755 residents – representing 34 percent of the population – have received the updated bivalent COVID booster.”
This booster, he added, targets both the original virus strain and the Omicron variant and its subvariants, and provides the most protection against the most severe impacts of COVID, so they encourage all eligible people, especially adults 65 and older, to receive the bivalent booster. Currently, 52 percent of county residents 65 and older have received this booster.
In this phase where vaccination, testing and treatment pathways will be defined by each person's health insurance, she thanked her colleagues at the Human Services Agency who are working with clients, county health teams and partners to reach out to residents insured through Medi-Cal to complete the annual redetermination process that is resuming after a three-year suspension.
"This is a vital part of ensuring equitable access to health care in our community," she said.
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