COMMUNITY NEWS
Delta Stresses Short-Staffed Hospitals
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By Jondi Gumz
he COVID-19 Delta variant is sweeping across Santa Cruz County, dramatically boosting case counts, spreading faster, responsible for two fatalities, and local hospitals –with staffing down an estimated 20 percent – are nearing capacity in the intensive care units, a worrisome situation for Dr. Gail Newel, the county’s health officer. At an online press conference Thursday and a Friday town hall with County Supervisor Zach Friend, Newell urged everyone, vaccinated or not, to mask indoors and in public, and also outdoors in a crowd, get vaccinated if you have not, and stay home and isolate for 14 days if you have symptoms of the Delta variant. Those symptoms are: Sneezing, sniffles, sore throat and eye irritation – unlike the early version of the coronavirus, when the early warning sign was a cough. Asked if people attending the upcoming art and wine festivals in Scotts Valley and Capitola, the county fair and the Capitola beach festival should wear masks, Newel said, “I would hope so,” emphasizing that protection is needed at crowded outdoor events. She advised having a mask in your pocket, ready to use if outdoor conditions become crowded. At a Com-
munity Bridges event where she spoke, the gathering was outdoors, attendance was limited, and she was masked until dinner. “When I’m not eating or drinking I put my mask back on,” she said. The county is seeing 40 new cases a day, up from two or three, boosting the number of active cases to 687, up from 40 in June. Newel contends the risk can be mitigated for children returning to school for in-person instruction with statemandated teacher vaccinations, weekly testing if not fully vaccinated, and mask-wearing by students and school staff indoors. “I want to offer words of reassurance to parents,” said Newel, noting she, too, is a parent. “The best thing is to get kids back into school.” With California’s test positivity at 5.2 percent, the state Department of Public Health issued a mandate July 26 for all health care workers including dental staff, all state employees and jail staff, and all employees at homeless shelters and adult care facilities to show proof of full vaccination or be tested weekly. “COVID Update” page 8
Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
On July 30, Wild Roots Market in Felton urged unvaccinated customers to wear a mask while shopping. Now the county health officer urges everyone, vaccinated or not, to wear a mask indoors to prevent the COVID-19 Delta variant from spreading.
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Half Moon Bay • Downtown Santa Cruz Westside Santa Cruz • Capitola • Aptos
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / August 15th 2021 / 5
