San Mateo County blunts COVID surge for now

“Variants like BA.2 are going to cause some small swells. They won’t be major waves we don’t think,” Chan said.

For about a week, the county’s R-eff number, which indicates how many people someone with COVID-19 will infect, has surged above one and cases have ticked up but nowhere near rates seen in other parts of Asia, Europe or the East Coast, or those experienced when the pandemic was at its worst during the winter.

Chan said the Bay Area has been lucky this go-round because a large number of county residents currently have enough antibodies to prevent serious infection, either from recent COVID-19 booster shots or from being infected by the omicron variant.

More than 693,000 county residents have received at least one vaccine dose or about 94% of those eligible ages 5 or older. And tens of thousands of residents contracted the virus over the winter holidays when omicron caused historic levels of infections among people both vaccinated and unvaccinated.

And while Bay Area counties have reported a greater number of infections compared to other California counties, Chan said that trend is likely because the region tests at greater rates than others, agreeing with similar arguments made by San Francisco officials.

“All of us also understand that the virus is substantially circulating and people who are vaccinated shouldn’t be overly afraid because they’re vaccinated,” Chan said, noting those who contract the virus will experience moderate symptoms such as headaches, body aches and fatigue.

According to a COVID-19 data tracker maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus has a low prevalence in the county. When in the “low” category, residents are recommended to get tested and wear a mask if experiencing symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

But the subvariant has stalled hopes COVID-19 cases would fall to rates previously seen last spring or summer, Chan said. Between 70 to 100 new cases are being reported per day, not accounting for at-home antigen tests or cases that go undetected all together, Chan said, noting the figures are about double rates from last spring.

“Because the case rates have not continued to drop, public health is still strongly recommending masks to be worn indoors in public areas,” Chan said.

Recognizing that many in the public are doing away with masking and social distancing indoors and outside, Chan stressed the importance of implementing good ventilation when gathering. He said conditions should be breezy inside, mimicking conditions if gathering outdoors to ensure virus particles do not settle in one place and increase risk of infection.

Chan also warned that future surges or swells may be worse than what’s been experienced in recent days given that the level of community protection will decrease as time between boosters or the omicron surge increases.

“I would say the risk is still there and be aware of that risk. … There’s going to be larger waves in the future,” Chan said. “If we’re not going to do the other parts, it’s important to focus on ventilation indoors.”

Chan recommends visiting the CDC website at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/Improving-Ventilation-Home.html to learn more about properly ventilating a home. Visit the County Health website at smchealth.org/coronavirus to learn more about local COVID-19 data and testing and vaccine clinics.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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