Given that the state reached the vaccination mark of 2 million people in the communities hardest hit by COVID-19, it revised its level system, and San Diego County is expected to move to the red level for activities on March 17.
The change of layers will allow the resumption of indoor operations, with limited capacity and with modifications, in restaurants, gyms, cinemas and other establishments.
San Diego and 11 other counties are moving to the less restrictive level of the Red Tier, which now requires a case rate of four to 10 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. The rate of cases adjusted and calculated by the state of San Diego County is currently 8.8 cases per 100,000 residents.
“This is great news for our region. The San Diegans have done a good job following public health guidelines and that has caused our case rate to drop in the past few weeks, ”said Wilma Wooten, MD, MPH, county public health officer. “Our vaccination efforts have also helped to slow the spread of COVID-19. As more people are vaccinated, the number of cases is expected to continue decreasing. “
The county must remain at the red level and post two consecutive weeks of data at the orange level before moving to the less restrictive level, which would facilitate further restrictions.
Currently, the percentage of positivity of the test is 3.3%, placing the County at Level 3 or at Orange Level. The county’s health equity metric, which analyzes the test’s positivity for areas with the lowest health conditions, is 4.5% and is also at Orange Level or Level 3. These metrics are also expected to decrease when the state announces the level assignments on March 16.
While two of the three metrics qualify the county for Orange or Level 3, the state assigns counties to the most restrictive level.
When the state administers 4 million doses in the vaccine’s equity quartile, the level assignments will be revised again.
San diegans with chronic diseases eligible for vaccine on Monday
As of March 15, people between 16 and 64 years of age who have a serious health problem will be able to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the county Health and Human Services Agency announced today.
The vaccine is being made available to people in this category because they are considered to be at high risk of serious COVID-19 disease due to their pre-existing medical condition.
“People with chronic health conditions should be vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Wooten. “All vaccines available today are 100% effective in preventing serious COVID-19 diseases.”
San Diegans residents with developmental disabilities or other serious, high-risk disabilities will also be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
People in Phase 1 are encouraged to be vaccinated by their health care provider. San Diegans residents without a doctor should contact 2-1-1 to connect to a provider or make an appointment at www.vaccinationsuperstationsd.com.
San Diegans residents who have a health care provider have no proof of an existing medical condition because their medical history is already on file and doctors must invite their patients to be vaccinated when it is their turn. Persons without a healthcare professional must sign a self-reported form indicating that they have one of the listed chronic conditions.
Breweries without food can open
From March 13th, breweries, wineries and distilleries that do not serve meals can open in the open only with modifications.
Customers visiting these establishments must make a reservation and respect the 90-minute period. In addition, the service for consumption on site must end by 20h. The updated guidance does not apply to breweries, wineries and distilleries that provide meals.
Vaccination progress:
- More than 1.27 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to the region and more than 1.18 million have been registered as administered. This number includes county residents and those who work in San Diego County.
- Of those vaccinated to date, nearly 400,000 county residents, or 14.8% of San Diegans aged 16 and over, are fully immunized.
- Overall, nearly 688,000 county residents received at least one injection of the two-dose vaccine. That is 25.6% of those eligible.
- Those who received the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine are being added to the total of fully vaccinated San Diegans.
- The difference between the doses administered and those used in a vaccination represents approximately what is expected to be administered in the next seven days and the doses yet to be entered in the registration system.
- More information on vaccine distribution can be found on the county’s vaccination panel. For details on currently eligible groups and vaccination opportunities, visit www.vaccinationsuperstation.com.
Community configuration outbreaks:
- Three new outbreaks in the community were confirmed on March 11: one in a commercial setting, one in a TK-12º primary school setting and one in a restaurant / bar setting.
- In the past seven days (March 5 to 11), 12 community outbreaks have been confirmed.
- The number of outbreaks in the community remains above the trigger of seven or more in seven days.
- An outbreak in a community setting is defined as three or more cases of COVID-19 in an environment and in people from different households in the last 14 days.
Test:
- 12,907 tests were notified to the county on March 11, and the percentage of new positive cases was 3%.
- The 14-day moving average percentage of positive cases is 2.9%. The target is less than 8.0%.
- The daily average of 7-day tests is 12,857.
ICU cases, hospitalizations and admissions:
- 362 cases of COVID-19 were reported to the county on March 11. The total for the region is now 264,889.
- 13,327 or 5% of all cases required hospitalization.
- 1,621 or 0.6% of all cases and 12.2% of hospitalized cases had to be admitted to an intensive care unit.
Deaths:
- 12 new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on March 11. The total for the region is 3,434.
- Seven men and five women died between December 23 and March 10.
- Of the 12 deaths recorded on March 11, three people who died were 80 or older, five were in their 70s, two in their 60s and two in their 50s.
- 10 had underlying medical conditions, one did not and one had an outstanding medical history.
More information:
The most detailed data summaries found in the County coronavirus-sd.com website are updated around 5pm daily.