COVID-19 — Governor announces plans to end related state of emergency
On Oct. 17 Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California’s state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic will end on
Feb. 28, 2023, as transmission rates throughout the state and much of the country remained low.
Newsom said the timeline gives the health care system needed flexibility to handle any potential surge that may occur after the holidays in January and February and will provide state and local partners the time needed to prepare for the phaseout.
Kern County’s COVID-19 transmission rate remained at low last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In California, only Siskiyou County was medium and no counties were at high transmission rate.
Indicators for community levels are related to new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, both on a seven-day average. If it’s less than 10 percent, the transmission rate is considered low. But as metrics rise, the level is adjusted, first to medium and then to high.
Advisories for individuals who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease range from having a plan for rapid testing and talking to healthcare providers about potential treatments when the transmission rate is low to taking greater precautions (such as wearing a mask) with medium transmission rate.
LOCAL NUMBERS
Data from Kern County
Public Health Services Department showed 13 new cases in the 93561 ZIP code between Oct. 14 and Oct. 21, compared to 11 new cases reported the previous week.
The total number of cases reported for the year is 3,969 and the total since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 is 10,085.
At the California Correctional Institution, where incarcerated individuals are included in the 93561 ZIP code count by the health department, there were five active cases among the inmate population on Oct. 21. There were three staff cases on Oct. 19.
Kern County reported a total of 2,561 COVID-19related deaths countywide on Oct. 21 — up by only one from the previous week. The county does not provide death data by specific community or ZIP code.