COMMUNITY NEWS
Two More Deaths as Omicron Variant Arrives S By Jondi Gumz
anta Cruz County reports two more COVID-19 deaths and more hospitalizations and the state confirms via genome sequencing that a variant of concern, Omicron, is in California. To detect and prevent the spread of the new variant, the state is increasing COVID-19 testing at airports for arrivals from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia or Zimbabe, all identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as countries with Omicron cases. Little is known about Omicron, whether the spread is the same or faster, whether it is more severe or milder. The state Department of Public Health issued this statement: “We must remain vigilant against this variant, but it is not a cause for panic.” Keep those masks handy if you are hosting family indoors for the holiday. Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel ordered masks to be worn indoors starting Nov. 22, to stave off a surge of winter cases and hospitalizations. The order applies when you are indoors and not eating, regardless of vaccination status, at work and also at home when nonhousehold members are present. Santa Cruz County reports 540 active cases as of Nov. 28, up from 517 a week ago, 21,124 cases since the pandemic began, 624 hospitalizations, and 225,600 negative test results. Statistics are updated on Mondays and Thursdays. County hospitalizations are up from 6 to 14, including one in intensive care. The two people who died were unvaccinated and had underlying conditions. One was an Asian woman in her mid40s and the other a white man in his mid70s. Schools countywide report 41 active cases, including four students in the Scotts Valley Unified School District. Brook Knoll Elementary has two cases, Vine Hill Elementary one and Scotts Valley Middle School one. No active cases involved staff. San Lorenzo Valley Unified District reports 7 active student cases, three at San Lorenzo Valley Charter School, two at Boulder Creek Elementary and two at San Lorenzo Valley Middle School. No active cases involved staff. See santacruzcoe.org/coviddashboards. Felton Community Hall will host a new popup vaccine clinic on Wednesdays, to make vaccination more convenient. For a list of COVID vaccine providers, visit www. santacruzhealth.org/coronavirusvaccine. Vaccine Mandates eaths are still rising — 777,000 in the United States, 73,800 in California, 224 in
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Santa Cruz County — and part of President Biden’s strategy is to mandate vaccines or weekly tests for employers with 100 more employees (part time as well as fulltime — independent contractors are not counted). The deadline to comply is Jan. 4. Attorneys general from 27 states sued. One argument is the president set legislative policy, which is the job of Congress, and another is Congress did not give federal Occupational Safety and Health administrators the power to end pandemics. On Nov. 6, a federal appellate court in Louisiana temporarily blocked the mandate. Due to legal challenges, the future of the mandate is not known. Officials at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandated full COVID-19 vaccination for staff by Jan. 4 at healthcare facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid. That prompted a lawsuit Nov. 10 by 10 states, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Kansas. They challenged the federal agency’s authority to implement the mandate. On Nov. 29, U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp in Missouri that a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the mandate in the 10 states is warranted pending a full judicial review. According to Schelp, “Congress has not provided CMS the authority to enact the regulation at issue.” He wrote, “No one questions that protecting patients and healthcare workers from contracting COVID is a laudable objective.
But the court cannot, in good faith, allow CMS to enact an unprecedented mandate that lacks a ‘rational connection between the
facts found and the choice made.’”
“COVID Update” page 6
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Scotts Valley Times / December 2021 / 5
