New Face Mask Guidance Issued By CDC As RivCo Infections Spread

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Fully vaccinated residents in Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties were advised Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to resume wearing face masks in indoor public places to "maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others."

The new guidance comes amid the increased spread of coronavirus and COVID-hospitalizations in unvaccinated people. The updated guidance applies to people living in areas "of substantial or high transmission," according to the CDC.

Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties have "high" transmission rates, as do several Northern California counties, according to the federal health agency.

The state had not issued new guidance at the time of this publication but has continued to follow the CDC, so an update is likely in the coming days. Riverside County has maintained that it aligns with federal and state guidelines.

Prior to Tuesday's CDC update, the state was requiring only non-vaccinated people to wear masks inside public places.

During a Tuesday morning briefing to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, local health officials said they were carefully monitoring the notable increase of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations countywide.

On Tuesday, 1,247 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the county, the highest single-day number since February. COVID deaths have not spiked nearly as much, but Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung told the board that it will be another month or so before fatalities attributed to the current uptick are reported.

Leung told the board that COVID case and positivity rates have increased "five-fold" over the past two months. The state lifted all public health orders on June 15 and since then more than 5,500 new COVID cases have been reported countywide.

Ninety-seven percent of new COVID cases nationwide are occurring in unvaccinated people, and just .05 percent of vaccinated people statewide have become infected with the virus, Leung said.

"The most effective tool is vaccination," he said, noting that the shots are more effective at preventing serious COVID illness than antibodies from previous infection.

Leung also cited CDC data that indicates herd immunity can only be achieved when 70-80 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

As of Tuesday, 49.2 percent of people in Riverside County 12 and older were fully vaccinated against COVID, according to county data.

Bruce Barton, director of the county's Emergency Management Department, told the board Tuesday that 222 COVID patients were hospitalized countywide, 47 of them in ICU. He compared that with early June when just 27 COVID hospitalizations were reported, four of them in ICU. However, in January, when numbers were very high in the county, hospitalizations reached 1,675 with 180 of those patients in ICU.

Barton said his team has been in regular communication with local hospitals, which are reporting three to four times more patients than normal for this time of year. Not all of the patient increase, however, is due to COVID, he said.

Barton told the board that hospitals have adequate personal protective equipment in case of a more substantial COVID surge.

During Tuesday's meeting, no updated mask guidance for the county was suggested, but Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said the topic will be discussed in case of an "exaggerated surge."