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Felton COVID-19 Outbreak: ‘Delta Variant Is No Joke’, By Jondi Gumz
COMMUNITY NEWS Felton COVID Outbreak
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By Jondi Gumz
Felton Music Hall reported an outbreak of COVID-19 after Grateful Shred of Los Angeles gave a July 18 indoor concert attended by 291 people, and postponed upcoming shows with Steely Dan and Anthony Arya.
“What started out as one person with symptoms has turned into a couple of confirmed cases,” the hall posted on Facebook. “Nearly all the band and crew have also tested positive and are at home recovering with their families … Apparently the vaccine does not prevent transmission. But fortunately it does seem to really help in reducing sickness and preventing hospitalization.”
The hall, owned by Thomas Cussins, reported all employees will be required to provide a negative PCR test and “when we come back, masks will be required for all staff and patrons … This Delta variant is no joke.”
The music and dinner venue reopened July 29, saying staff will wear masks at shows hosted by Roaring Camp and anyone not masked will be ejected.
Active COVID cases, which had fallen to 40 in June in Santa Cruz County, now stand at 256. Hospitalizations, which were zero, are up to five, with three people in intensive care.
On July 27, Gov. Newsom said state employees and health care workers must show proof of vaccination starting Aug. 9 or be tested weekly as the Delta variant, which spreads more easily, comprises 80% of the California’s COVID cases.
Vaccination proof is being required for students, faculty and staff at Cabrillo College and community colleges statewide, CSU Monterey Bay and all CSU campuses, and UC Santa Cruz and all UC campuses. Exemptions can be requested for medical or religious reasons.
On July 27, federal health officials recommended everyone regardless of vaccination status wear masks indoors to slow the spread of Delta COVID-19 cases.
On July 28, state health officials recommended universal masking in public settings — groceries, retail stores, theaters, family entertainment centers — a huge pivot from June 15 when cases in the 18-month pandemic were at a low point.
Impact on Education
Cabrillo expects 8,000 students when fall classes begin Aug. 23. Enrollment dropped 18% during the pandemic, “tragic to watch,” Cabrillo Superintendent/ President Matt Wetstein said during a July 28 Zoom webinar on education & COVID hosted by Casey Beyer of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce.
The students not enrolling are firstgeneration, poor, largely Latino students, which Wetstein finds troubling.
It’s a trend in community colleges nationwide, with the average decline 21 percent, he pointed out.
Yet applications to UCSC were up 11 percent, and CSU Monterey Bay projects stable enrollment, fewer freshman but more transfers.
CSU campuses had been waiting for full approval of vaccines by the Food and Drug Administration, which has granted emergency use, but after a federal judge upheld Indiana University’s vaccine mandate, the CSU chancellor on July 27 mandated vaccines, citing the Delta variant.
CSU Monterey Bay, which will have 50% face-to-face classes, 40% virtual and 10% hybrid, already has a vaccine registration system, Chancellor Eduardo Ochoa said.
UCSC, which expects 18,500 students including 9,300 living on campus, starts later — on Sept. 18 — and can learn from others, Chancellor Cindy Larive said.
She noted the campus policy for masking indoors and “zero person-toperson transmission on campus” with “most cases in the community.”
Sequencing to identify variants at the Colligan diagnostic lab on campus is “better than contact tracing” and “important to understanding community spread,” Larive said.
Asked about vaccination percentages, Cabrillo’s Wetstein said, “About 50%. We’re finding lots of reluctance.”
He estimated 50% of students 18 to 21 are vaccinated.
“We’re sending a message the mandate is there – it’s easy to upload (your certificate). We hope those students get the message. It is a hard lift. It has plateaued.”
Reason for Spread
On July 22, at a rare press conference outdoors, public and private sector health leaders in Santa Cruz County urged people to get vaccinated to avoid a hospital stay.
The Delta variant spreads more easily.
“Everyone who is currently in the hospital in Santa Cruz County is unvaccinated,” said Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel.
Dr. Katherine Martin, a 2016 medical school graduate with Sutter Health in Watsonville, made a plea to millennials under 30, who have the lowest vaccination rate.
“Even if you never develop symptoms from Covid-19, you can pass it to others,” she said.
A UC San Francisco study of 5,000 young adults 18 to 24, who are more likely to spread the virus, reported in July they are concerned about possible side effects.
