San Mateo County recognizes one-year anniversary of first COVID case

County Manager Mike Callagy, who also serves as the countywide head of emergency services, said in a news release Tuesday that the county has been challenged like never before.

“That was the pivotal moment when life as we knew it changed. We didn’t know at the time just how profound those changes would be,” Callagy said.

The EOC is part of the county’s Regional Operations Center, located in downtown Redwood City.

Dan Belville, director of the San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services, said that the county mobilized quickly to respond to the pandemic by bringing key players together.

“This is incredibly important in the first stages of a crisis because you need to establish clear lines of communication and determine who is doing what,” Belville said in a statement. “And just as important, we were able to eventually wind down the in-person operation to minimize exposure without any loss in efficiency.”

In the past year, the county has seen 38,959 total cases and 521 deaths.

Now, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the decline following a surge in December and January.

With an adjusted case rate of four cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 1.7% — both lower than the statewide numbers — the county stayed in the red Tier 2 of the state’s reopening framework this week. If the county stays in the red tier for three consecutive weeks and the adjusted case rate drops below four, it could move into the orange Tier 3, which would loosen restrictions on businesses even more.