San Mateo County Coronavirus Update – December 12, 2020

Press release from the City of Millbrae:

December 12, 2020

Since the beginning of the pandemic, San Mateo County has reported 17,176 cases of COVID-19 and 179 deaths related to it.

San Mateo County’s Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow said recently, “I look closely and frequently at our data to try to divine what they mean. Remember, our data are just a proxy of reality, not reality in and of itself. Our cases are certainly going up. But it appears to be a linear increase, with higher increases in 20-40 year olds, but the increases are across all demographics. Our hospitalizations are going up, linearly, and our hospitals feel equipped to deal with a surge.”

Currently, Bay Area hospitals are at around 17% ICU beds available. If the region drops below 15% available, the Governor will mandate a regional stay-at-home order. In any region that triggers a regional stay-at-home order because it drops below 15% ICU capacity, all operations in the following sectors must be closed:

• Indoor and Outdoor Playgrounds
• Indoor Recreational Facilities
• Hair Salons and Barbershops
• Personal Care Services
• Museums, Zoos, and Aquariums
• Movie Theaters
• Wineries
• Bars, Breweries and Distilleries
• Family Entertainment Centers
• Cardrooms and Satellite Wagering
• Limited Services
• Live Audience Sports
• Amusement Parks

The following sectors will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing:

• Outdoor Recreational Facilities: Allow outdoor operation only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.
• Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• Shopping Centers: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• Hotels and Lodging: Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.
• Restaurants: Allow only for take-out or pick-up.
• Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.
• Places of Worship: Allow outdoor services only.
• Entertainment Production including Professional Sports: Allow operation without live audiences.

We want to remind people to follow all social distancing and public health protocols such as staying at least 6-feet away from others and wearing a face mask when in public, washing your hands frequently, and avoiding gathering with people outside of your immediate family. Please follow these protocols until a vaccine becomes widely available.

A vaccine is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. San Mateo County and the State of California have made equitable distribution a key priority of local vaccine distribution. In the first phase, healthcare workers and long-term care residents will be targeted, as they are reaching the residents and workers who are shouldering the highest risk of exposure.

San Mateo County has partnered with the hospitals, clinics, and care facilities throughout the county to ensure they are positioned to be able to administer the vaccine to their staff and residents. They are ready, and anticipate their first shipments of “pre-positioned vaccine” (ordered and shipped before it is officially approved) to arrive next week. Once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes its use, they will begin.

To learn more about San Mateo County Health’s vaccine distribution plan, please visit https://www.smchealth.org/covid-19-vaccination.

To learn more about COVID-19, it impacts on San Mateo County, and local health orders, please visit https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus.

This press release was produced by the City of Millbrae. The views expressed here are the author’s own.