COVID-19 cases may have peaked in San Mateo County but officials encourage vigilance

After two months of surging COVID-19 cases, Meulman said recent case reports and some data from wastewater studies indicate health conditions could be improving but given how high infections are at the moment, he said it will take time for cases to drop to rates experienced during the previous two surges and longer to historic lows.

Part of his hesitance is due to a lag in test results caused by a huge influx in demand for tests after holiday gatherings followed by a return to in-person work and school. Private and public sectors attempted to meet the demand by expanding capacity but vendors across the county have bumped up to their limits partly due to staffing constraints felt across industries, Deputy County Manager Justin Mates said earlier this week.

Once vendors have caught up on the backlog, Meulman said officials will have better insight into whether cases are actually dipping or if the county will be experiencing a plateau with sustained high infection rates.

“We’re hopeful that as we go through February we’ll begin to see things improve substantially but that depends on how well we all as a community continue to be diligent,” Meulman said.

COVID-19 cases began to climb rapidly in the beginning of December as the omicron variant, a far more contagious strain of the virus first identified in South Africa, began to spread across the region. While the new strain appeared to cause milder infections than previous mutations, it caused a historic spike of cases with more than 34,600 people contracting the virus in the past 30 days.

During that time, hospitalizations steadily increased, resulting in about 125 to 145 patients being treated on any given day, with more than 30 patients in the ICU. Still, Chief of Health Louise Rogers noted in her Message From the Chief, published Wednesday, Jan. 19, that fewer people have been hospitalized during this surge compared to the last winter spike when more than 200 people were being treated at a time

Rogers noted that hospitalizations have about a two-week lag time compared to infections meaning hospitalizations could remain higher while cases drop.

With that in mind, Rogers said the county will remain focused on supporting the health care system as it manages the high number of hospitalizations amid internal staffing constraints. The county also expanded the number of hotels it is using for interim shelter for those who have been discharged from a hospital setting but cannot return home due to infection from one to three sites, Rogers said.

As cases drop, Meulman said health officials will continue to monitor underserved communities, which Rogers noted have been hardest hit by the virus and are likely to see slower improvements.

“There are ripple effects across communities, especially in those bearing higher virus exposure that occurs through work or living situations, which continues to disproportionately impact populations of color. We also see the many ways our residents are extending themselves and protecting each other to get through this difficult time,” Rogers said.

Meulman said the county is still in the process of acquiring rapid antigen tests to distribute in hard-hit areas of the county but noted supply constraints have bogged down efforts. County Health spokesperson Preston Merchant said in an email that the county is currently prioritizing high-risk groups including low-income families with small children and staff and residents of congregate care facilities who may have a harder time acquiring tests.

Health officials also note that about 61% of residents 12 and older who have completed their initial vaccination series and are eligible for a booster have received one. Eligibility for those older than 12 begins five months after completing the first series. The percentage of the population over 12 who have completed the initial vaccination series is 95.6% in San Mateo County.

Officials are encouraging the public to get vaccinated if they have not done so yet, to receive a booster when eligible and to upgrade face masks to N95s or KN95s that have been proven to provide greater protection than cloth or surgical masks.

While hesitant to offer predictions for what the coming weeks will bring, Meulman and Rogers noted local health officials are monitoring surge trends in areas hit by omicron before the Bay Area, which are now starting to see a decline in cases.

“We remain very humbled by all we cannot predict about the duration of this current surge,” Rogers said. “While 2022 has not begun as any of us would wish, I remain grateful for the ways our residents and our frontline workers have persevered to protect our community and hopeful that this will be a year of more health for all.”

Visit the County Health website at smchealth.org/coronavirus for more information on testing and vaccination opportunities and safety recommendations.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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