County to end COVID-19 health emergency
By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–County health officials will end its three-year COVID-19 local emergency proclamation and declarations on February 28.
The County says it will continue its COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccination of people as long as the virus continues to circulate. They also reminded the public to continue to protect themselves by getting up to date with vaccinations, including getting a bivalent booster.
“Our declaration of a local health emergency and local emergency proclamation will end Feb. 28, matching the end of the state’s declarations,” said County Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H. “But make no mistake, this is not the time to let your guard down. The virus is still circulating throughout the community. People are still being hospitalized and dying. So protect yourself, your family and friends. We strongly urge people to get current with their COVID-19 vaccinations, including the bivalent booster.”
The County will continue to publish COVID-19 articles and social media posts when it has new information to share with the public. The web pages will continue to be updated weekly. And people can subscribe to the County’s Respiratory Virus Surveillance report to get continued weekly COVID-19 data reporting.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the County has published more than 570 stories and videos that registered more than 27.2 million views, providing San Diegans with the most up-to-date information about COVID-19, testing, treatments, and vaccinations.
The County’s response to the pandemic will continue to provide the services needed to protect the public including surveillance, testing, tracing, treatment, vaccinations, and public engagement.
For the week ending Feb. 18, the report shows:
- 1,774 COVID-19 cases were reported to the County in the past seven days. The region’s total is now 983,031.
- The 1,774 cases reported in the past week were lower compared to the 1,989 infections identified the previous week.
- Nine additional deaths were reported in the week ending Feb. 18. The region’s total is 5,768.
- Eight of the people who died were 65 or older.
- Six of the people had been vaccinated and three were unvaccinated or had not completed the primary vaccine series.
- All nine people had underlying medical conditions.
Both COVID-19 vaccinations and treatment remain widely available throughout San Diego County. The primary series vaccines and bivalent boosters, as well as flu vaccines, are available at local pharmacies, medical providers’ offices, and County vaccination sites. People can check online for the days and hours sites are open.
