Merced County health officer says relaxed masking rules don’t mean end of COVID threat

Much confusion surrounds the sunsetting of the California state masking mandate, which happened on Feb. 15, and what that signifies. To some, everything is back to normal, and COVID and its omicron variant are a thing of the past. Others seek to end mask mandates even in the schools, though that wasn’t the intent of the changes.

Here are key facts:

Background to Feb. 15:

On Dec. 15, with omicron looming, the existing state health officer order permitting only fully vaccinated individuals to go without masks in indoor public places was changed, requiring even vaccinated individuals to wear masks in indoor settings. A part of that order, which has not changed and will continue with the Feb. 15 revision, is that:

▪ masks continue to be required on public transit, indoors in K-12 schools and child care, correctional facilities, health care facilities, homeless and emergency shelters, and long-term care facilities.

Effective Feb. 16, fully vaccinated individuals can go into indoor public spaces legally without masks, though use of masks in crowded indoor places is still strongly encouraged, regardless of vaccination status.

We continue to experience significant spread of COVID in the community, almost all of it being of the highly contagious omicron variant. Though overall numbers are declining, they are going down more slowly than other parts of the state. Our hospitals remain severely impacted, with high numbers of COVID positive patients straining a system already near overflow capacity just from usual expected hospitalizations. Merced County bears the dubious distinction of having the highest mortality per capita from COVID as well as having the lowest vaccination rate in the San Joaquin Valley.

What to expect in the future

Understandably, after more than two years of the pandemic, everyone is tired and would like a return to some semblance of normal. In addition to the large numbers of illnesses and 763 deaths the COVID pandemic has caused thus far, we have suffered tremendous economic hardship to businesses and working families of our communities. It has created unbearable stress on our health care system and health care workforce, and severely strained our schools, teachers and staff, students, and parents.

The pandemic and the responses to it have led to divisions posed as between personal freedom and choice against intrusive government intervention. This incorrect dichotomy has been accentuated in part by poorly worded information going out to the public, incomplete or one-sided messaging, rumors, and intentional misinformation — all traveling at the speed of social media.

Fortunately, there is reason to hope as the omicron surge appears to be subsiding, though we still need to remain vigilant as COVID has been full of surprises. Between tried and proven vaccines, currently available monoclonal antibody treatments, and newly arriving therapeutic oral medications, we are in a much better position than we were during last winter’s surge.

We shouldn’t lose sight of the non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as masking, distancing, hygiene, and ventilation that permitted us to weather the storm prior to vaccines and medications. Masks are not the cause of the problems with mental health and lost education in the schools. If anything, they helped to keep schools open [see “what do masks do to kids” at newrepublic.com].

Your health department, working together with the schools and the state health department, are seeking to determine when it is safe to remove the masking requirement in schools.

This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 12:15 PM.