California extending indoor mask mandate until mid-February

LOS ANGELES — California’s indoor disguise mandate was extended into mid-February to assistance forestall the astonishing spike successful coronavirus cases from overwhelming hospitals but the state’s wellness manager said Wednesday further restrictions are not being considered.

The fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 is sidelining exposed oregon infected wellness attraction workers, starring to infirmary staffing shortages that could go a bigger problem.

“We are and proceed to beryllium acrophobic astir our hospitals,” Dr. Mark Ghaly said. “Some facilities are going to beryllium strapped.”

California’s confirmed cases person changeable up astir 500% successful the past 2 weeks and hospitalizations person doubled since Christmas to much than 8,000. State models forecast hospitalizations could apical 20,000 by aboriginal adjacent month, a level astir arsenic precocious arsenic past January, erstwhile California experienced its deadliest surge.

Public Health officials crossed the authorities advised residents to debar visiting exigency rooms for COVID-19 tests oregon attraction that could beryllium handled by a household doctor, telemedicine oregon astatine urgent attraction clinics. California had the lowest per-capita lawsuit complaint successful the U.S. successful September, but similar the remainder of the state it’s present experiencing a melodramatic emergence from the caller variant.

‘Very fragile balance’

In Fresno County, much than 300 workers astatine country hospitals were retired recovering from COVID-19 oregon isolating due to the fact that of vulnerability to the virus, said Dan Lynch, the county’s exigency aesculapian services director. Ambulance unit volition apt beryllium asked to measure patients and lone transport radical with existent emergencies to ER departments.

Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim wellness officer, said unit are conflict hardened and accustomed to stretching resources.

“But this surge threatens adjacent that precise fragile equilibrium that’s being struck astatine our hospitals,” helium said.

As the fig of COVID-19 cases surges successful California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and authorities officials are facing disapproval for failing to present connected a committedness to supply rapid, at-home tests to each California students and schoolhouse unit earlier classrooms reopened aft the wintertime break.

Millions of trial kits were sent to families earlier and during wintertime interruption but millions much were not — raising concerns astir nationalist schoolhouse information present that the state’s 6 cardinal K-12 students are returning to classrooms amid soaring rates of COVID-19 cases.

The California Department of Public Health has said it sent astir 2 cardinal accelerated tests to schoolhouse districts astatine the opening of December.

A fewer days earlier Christmas, Newsom announced a program to acquisition 6 cardinal much trial kits for students.

The extremity was to guarantee students could safely instrumentality to campuses “knowing that they person not contracted the illness implicit the holidays,” Newsom said astatine the time.

About fractional of those trial kits were delivered to section governments and schoolhouse districts past week. Others ne'er arrived owed successful portion to “distribution challenges” and delays caused by wintertime storms, California schools main Tony Thurmond told reporters connected Wednesday.

Thurman called the hold “disappointing.”

“We person 10,000 schools successful the authorities truthful it’s a daunting task, but we’ve got to find ways to marque it hap successful a much accelerated way,” helium said.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times asked: Where are each the COVID-19 tests that Newsom promised for K-12 schools?

“Too galore California kids went backmost to schoolhouse this week without knowing whether they’re spreading the highly contagious Omicron variant,” the editorial said.

Schools and testing

In schools that did get the tests, the results person helped forestall galore coronavirus-carrying students and unit from entering campuses.

The Oakland Unified School District said Tuesday that much than 900 students and unit tested affirmative earlier the commencement of schoolhouse Monday and were staying astatine home.

About fractional the cases were detected by investigating astatine schoolhouse sites during the holidays and the different fractional from accelerated at-home tests that had been distributed to students earlier and during the break.

Sacramento City Unified School District reported that much than 500 students and unit were quarantined aft investigating affirmative for COVID-19. The territory said it received astir 38,000 trial kits successful December from the Department of Public Health, which was not capable to screen its 40,000 students and thousands much teachers and staff.

“Unfortunately the territory did not person capable kits for each students arsenic we had expected, truthful organisation was focused connected ensuring that younger populations ineligible to person the vaccine were prioritized,” the territory said successful a statement.

In San Francisco, 406 of astir 3,600 teachers were absent for a 2nd time Tuesday aft classrooms reopened.

On a emblematic time anterior to the pandemic, betwixt 250 and 300 teachers would beryllium absent for aesculapian oregon different reasons.

Statistics for pupil absences aft the resumption of classes pursuing wintertime interruption for the 49,000-student territory were not yet available, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.