The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday officially ended the COVID-19 emergency proclamation that had been in effect since the pandemic began more than 3 years ago.
This resolution is largely a matter of government management, as local, state and federal emergency fitness orders have already been lifted.
Local fitness officials said that while COVID-19 infections still occur, the spread of the virus has moved from a pandemic phase to an endemic phase. This means that COVID-19 is ubiquitous but manageable, like other coronaviruses or the flu.
“COVID-19 is still in the community, and other people still want to get vaccinated and take precautions to get sick,” manager Chris Coursey, chairman of the board, said in a statement. virus, we don’t want to treat it as an emergency anymore. “
The local emergency proclamation was ratified on March 4, 2020, two days after a Sonoma County resident who had just returned from a cruise ship on the Grand Princess in Mexico became the first local user to test positive for the virus.
The local emergency fitness order was lifted on Feb. 28, the same day Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted California’s state of emergency. The national state of emergency ended on May 11.
During the pandemic, public fitness measures and campaigns have targeted the most vulnerable residents, namely the elderly, others with pre-existing fitness conditions, and those with weakened immune systems.
These teams continue to revel in the rates of severe COVID-19 cases and deaths. The disease claimed the lives of 561 Sonoma County residents, and 76 percent of the deaths involved others 65 and older.
With the pandemic officially over, county officials moved their COVID-19 data from the county’s emergency online page to that of the county’s fitness department. Officials said the end of the emergency designation also means some loose COVID-19 resources are being discontinued.
But the following is still available, in the county:
• Existing federal COVID-19 vaccines will remain free.
• Free COVID-19 treatment is still available for those with fitness insurance. Those who do not have a fitness policy are advised to seek remedy at a federally licensed gym.
• Free antigen tests can be difficult to obtain. For a loose PCR check, visit the color verification site via ing color. com/register.
Despite the lifting of emergency declarations, federal fitness officials continue to advise others to keep up with their vaccinations.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this means anyone over the age of 6 should get an updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine; other people age 65 and older may receive a momentary dose of the updated vaccine; And immunocompromised Americans could get more doses of the updated vaccine.
In addition, children 6 months through 5 years may wish to have several doses of COVID-19 vaccine a day, adding at least 1 dose of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, depending on the number of doses they have gained in the past and their age.
Tuesday’s action through the oversight board means the COVID-19 emergency is over at the county government level. Local, state, and federal emergencies don’t end at the same time.
For example, last year, the state ended the emergency declaration for the Kincade Fire in 2019 after state officials ended their reaction and mitigation efforts and ceased to have emergency powers. Sonoma County still maintains a local emergency proclamation for the Kincade Fire.
Editor-in-Chief Martin Espinoza can be reached at 707-521-5213 or martin. espinoza@pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @pressreno.
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