Covid-19 infections are shrinking in Ventura County after expanding much of the summer.
Measures from the California Department of Public Health released Friday show an average of about 26 infections per day among the county’s 100,000 residents, up from a rate of nearly 32 a week ago. % two weeks before.
The knowledge does not turn out that the wave of infections is over, warned Rigoberto Vargas, director of the Ventura County Department of Public Health. Transmission is still fed through highly contagious subvariants, but the trend is possibly still downward.
“I don’t need to say we’re out of the woods,” Vargas said. “It’s still superior, even if we’re going in the right direction. “
The county remains in the 3rd degree of COVID-19 threat in a weekly rating through the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA But the region has failed to pass a level and can make that jump in a week depending on hospitalization grades for COVID-19, Vargas said.
Admissions continue to be on a relatively low plateau, expanding or shrinking slightly each day. As of Friday, another 64 people with COVID were being treated at county hospitals, up from 70 the day before. The levels are well below the peaks that were needed. in January a wave of omicrons subsided and then was reborn, this time driven through subvariants.
Local measurements show a state trend that suggests the existing increase is slowing, said George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco.
“Smart cash says it will stay low for about 3 months, and we’re going to have fun with the winter,” he said.
Most likely, the virus will continue to ride a rollercoaster ride of waves of strength and calm, it can also cause less serious illness and fewer deaths, Rutherford said.
Schools are reopening in Ventura County, but the activities don’t raise any specific considerations about COVID, whether or not students are dressed in face coverings, Vargas said. Masking of internal campuses is no longer recommended through public health, and decisions are left to individuals.
“I think schools are much safer than they were a year or two ago,” he said.
Federal COVID-19 rules have also been relaxed, adding minimized social distancing. The new recommendations call it “one” component of protection.
Quarantine rules are also changing. The CDC has stated in the past that if other people who are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines come into close contact with someone who tests positive, they will need to stay home for at least five days.
The company now says home quarantine is not necessary, but urges other people to wear a mask for 10 days and get tested after five.
Vargas welcomed the new recommendations.
“We are entering another COVID bankruptcy, more in the endemic phase,” he said. “We will be informed to adapt and live together. “
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tom Kisken covers health care and news for the Ventura County Star. Contact him at tom. kisken@vcstar. com or 805-437-0255.
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