Tag Archives: indoor mask mandate

Health

Orange County moves to ‘high’ level of COVID-19 transmission as cases, hospitalizations increase

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SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) — Orange County has climbed back into the “high” level of COVID-19 transmission amid an increase in cases and hospitalizations.

Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county’s chief health officer, says the jump to a higher level of community spread was expected because more people are socializing and gathering for the holidays.

She suggests taking a COVID test before heading to a family event or party.

“Consider testing before you go to a holiday gathering because you actually may have COVID, and if you do then you’re going to have to stay home,” Chinsio-Kwong said.

She says if you think you’ve been exposed to the virus, you should test yourself more than once before celebrating the holidays.

COVID cases are expected to rise through the first week of January.

Orange County Health Care Agency officials also encouraged residents to get up to date on vaccinations for flu and COVID-19. Officials especially encouraged vaccinated residents to get the new bivalent booster, which is designed to combat the omicron variant.

Health officials also advise the public to wash hands often and wear a mask in crowded spaces to stay safe.

Chinsio-Kwong says other illnesses are also putting a strain on resources.

“Hospitals are still being impacted by flu and RSV,” Chinsio-Kwong said. “Although we are seeing a decline in the RSV rates, the kids who are still getting into the hospital and even some of the adults who are going into the hospital are still having severe symptoms.”

City News Service contributed to this report.

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LA County mask mandate: Health officials decline to impose universal public indoor rule

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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The Los Angeles County Health Department declined Thursday to impose a universal public indoor mask mandate, citing a “decent decrease” in cases and hospitalizations.

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer made the announcement during a livestreamed meeting.

“Given the declines in case of hospitalization numbers, we’re hopeful that the admission rate over the next few days remains under 10 new admissions per 100,000 residents and L.A. County is soon officially moved by (the Centers for Disease Control) to the ‘medium’ community level,” Ferrer said. “As I noted last week, any indication that the county would soon be moving to the medium community level would be a good reason to not move forward with universal indoor masking.”

For most of the pandemic, L.A. County has required masks in some indoor spaces, including health care facilities, Metro trains and buses, airports, jails and homeless shelters. The new mandate would have expanded the requirement to all indoor public spaces, including shared offices, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, retail stores, restaurants and bars, theaters and schools.

WATCH | Dr. Barbara Ferrer discusses county’s decision to not reinstate indoor mask mandate

Supervisor Kathryn Barger hailed the decision to hold off on reinstating the rule.

“Unenforceable mandates don’t work,” Barger said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “We must continue to marshal our mandates and resources effectively in the fight against COVID-19.”

Supervisor Janice Hahn had joined her in opposing a mandate, saying she feared imposing such a rule would be “very divisive for L.A. County.”

“I honestly believe there are a significant number of the population who are not willing to accept mask mandates at this point,” Hahn said. “And many of them, the ones that have contacted me, pointed out that we do have more tools now than we had at the beginning of the pandemic.”

The county entered the “high” category two weeks ago when the average daily rate of COVID-related hospital admissions rose above 10 per 100,000 residents. As of July 21, the rate was 11.7 admissions per 100,000 residents.

Earlier this week, as residents awaited the decision, several cities — Beverly Hills, El Segundo, Pasadena and Long Beach — announced they would not enforce an indoor mask mandate if one were implemented.

The El Segundo City Council voted during a special meeting Tuesday night against enforcing a possible mask order.

The Beverly Hills City Council cast a similar vote Monday night. The cities of Long Beach and Pasadena — both of which operate their own health departments separate from the county — announced Tuesday they would not issue mask mandates, even if the county did.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said cases may have slowed, but he would support whatever health officials decide.

“If they say this is something we need to do for a couple weeks to help gets kids in schools, I’ll be supportive of that,” Garcetti told reporters. “But it does look like it may have crested in terms of the number of cases. If that happens with hospitalizations as well, we may not need to go to mandatory masking.”

City News Service contributed to this report.

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Health

Orange County enters COVID-19 ‘high’ transmission level, but no indoor mask mandate expected

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SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) — Orange County health experts are once again keeping a close eye on COVID-19 cases as the county moves to “high” community transmission.

“Right now we’re certainly seeing a surge in cases,” said Dr. Matt Zahn, deputy health officer for the Orange County Healthcare Agency.

He said transmission in the community is up due to the highly transmissible omicron subvariants.

“We have such an overlap in terms of our populations from Los Angeles County and us and other surrounding counties,” Zahn said. “It’s fair to say we’re all seeing this increase in cases. We’re all in this together.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 data tracker, Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 community level is now in the “high” category.

Ventura and Orange counties also moved into the “high” level this week based on elevated rates of people being infected with the virus.

San Bernardino and Riverside counties are currently in the “medium” category.

“Whenever we’ve seen an increase like this in the past during the pandemic there usually was an increase in ICU cases and also deaths. We’re not seeing that,” said Jose Arballo, public information officer for the Riverside County Department of Health.

If L.A. County stays at the “high” category for two weeks straight, officials say it would trigger a new indoor mask mandate.

It’s a move residents in some neighboring counties should not expect to see.

“We’ve always followed the state guidelines and mandates,” Arballo said. “I believe we will continue to do so. That’s the instruction we’ve been given.”

“In Orange County, we are not moving toward mandates at this point,” Zahn said.

Right now, health officials said anyone who feels safer wearing a mask should continue to do so especially in public places and indoors, and they encourage folks to get the COVID-19 vaccine or booster if eligible.

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City of Philadelphia drops COVID-19 vaccination mandate for dining establishments, enters ‘Mask Only’ level

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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The City of Philadelphia has lifted its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for dining establishments due to the recent drop in cases as it unveiled a new tiered response to the pandemic.

“As of today, we no longer need our city’s dining establishments to check vaccines,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole announced Wednesday.

Bettigole said the mandate, which went into effect in January and made it mandatory for patrons to be vaccinated in order to enter, was hard on restaurants and places of entertainment.

“But the work those establishments have done has helped to decrease transmission and to increase vaccination rates in the city,” Bettigole said.

Bettigole said the change for dining establishments comes as the Department of Public Health developed four COVID-19 response levels.

“The new response levels are based on case counts, positivity, hospitalizations and the rate in change of cases,” Bettigole explained. “They will provide transparency in to what city residents and business owners can expect going forward.”

There are four levels of response: “All Clear,” “Mask Precautions Only,” “Caution” and “Extreme Caution.”

Bettigole said case rates are dropping everywhere, but they are dropping “farther and faster” in Philadelphia than in many other parts of the state and country.

Based on Wednesday’s metric, Philadelphia has just entered Level 2, the “Mask Precautions Only” level, meaning, as stated above, the vaccine requirement for people entering establishments that serve food or drink is no longer in effect. In this level, masks are still required in indoor public places.

Here is a further breakdown of each COVID-19 Response Level:

Criteria for COVID-19 response levels

The response levels are triggered by meeting the following thresholds (the lowest level for which the city meets metrics will apply):

Level 4: Extreme Caution

  • Two or more of the following are true:

Average new cases per day is 500 or more.
Hospitalizations are 500 or more.
Percent positivity is 10% or more.
Cases have risen by more than 50% in the previous 10 days.

Level 3: Caution

  • Three or more of the following are true:

Average new cases per day is less than 500.
Hospitalizations are under 500.
Percent positivity is under 10%.
Cases have not risen by more than 50% in the previous 10 days.

Level 2: Mask Precautions

  • Three or more of the following are true:

Average new cases per day is less than 225 (this is approximately the cut-off between CDC’s “high” and “substantial” levels of transmission).
Hospitalizations are under 100.
Percent positivity is under 5%.
Cases have not risen by more than 50% in the previous 10 days.

Level 1: All Clear

  • Three or more of the following are true:

Average new cases per day is less than 100 (this is approximately the cut-off between CDC’s “substantial” and “moderate” levels of transmission).
Hospitalizations are under 50.
Percent positivity is under 2%.
Cases have not risen by more than 50% in the previous 10 days.

Mandates for COVID-19 response levels

Level 4: Extreme Caution

Proof of vaccination required for places that serve food or drink.
Masks required in indoor public places.

Level 3: Caution

Proof of vaccination or negative test within 24 hours (acceptable tests include lab or onsite testing, not home tests) for places that serve food or drink.
Masks required in indoor public places.

Level 2: Mask Precautions

No vaccine requirement for places that serve food or drink.
Masks required in indoor public places.

Level 1: All Clear

No vaccine requirement for places that serve food or drink.
No mask requirement (except in schools, healthcare institutions, congregate settings, and on public transportation; see “other situations,” below).

What the COVID-19 response levels mean for you

The City says by understanding the current level of risk, you will know how to best protect yourself and others and follow the City’s mandates.

When the City is in Level 4 (Extreme Caution):
You will need to present proof that you’re fully vaccinated to eat indoors.
You will need to wear a mask while in indoor public places.

When the City is in Level 3 (Caution):
You will need to present proof that you’re fully vaccinated or a have negative test from a lab or that is administered onsite to eat indoors.
You will need to wear a mask while in indoor public places.

When the City is in Level 2 (Mask Precautions):
You will need to wear a mask while in indoor public places.

When the City is in Level 1 (All Clear):
No COVID-19 mandates will be enforced.

Other Situations

The city said some COVID-19 restrictions have been instituted in certain higher-risk settings like schools and large events. These settings will work differently than the rest of the city in many cases.

Schools and early childhood education settings will continue to require 100% masking. The Health Department is discussing what that looks like if the City moves to Level 1 (All Clear).

Healthcare settings will continue to require masks under federal guidance.

Public transit will continue to require masks under federal guidance.

Large outdoor events, like concerts and races, with more than 1,000 people will require and check vaccine status during Level 4 (Extreme Caution), will require and check either vaccine status or have a negative test during Level 3 (Caution), and will have no restrictions during Level 2 (Mask Precautions) or Level 1 (All Clear).

College and university food and dining halls are covered by the City’s Institutions of Higher Education mandate and are not covered by the City’s COVID-19 response levels.

“The tiered system is about time,” said Ben Fileccia with the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. “From the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve been asking for some type of metrics… now we can actually look at the data, we can look at hospitalizations, we can look at positivity rates, and see for ourselves if we’re trending in the right direction for these mandates to be lifted.”

After meeting last week with the city’s Department of Public Health, Ed Grose, president of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, expected good news from the city.

“What they told us is they were going to start a process of rolling back the mandates based on the number of cases, and there’s a list of four criteria in each rollback. We’re very pleased (health commissioner) Dr. Bettigole and her team take the time to listen to us,” said Grose.

SEE ALSO: Philadelphia firefighters union sues city over COVID-19 vaccine mandate

Restaurant owner Shane Dodd of the Fairview in Fairmount said he was excited about the possibility of getting one step closer to normal.

“People are cautious and anything that lifts those restrictions and makes people feel a little more confident going out is obviously beneficial for business,” said Dodd.

Incentive for Vaccination

“When the vaccine mandate was announced, we were in the midst of the omicron wave and only 27.5% of Philadelphia’s children ages 5 to 11 had had a first dose of the COVID vaccine, slightly ahead of the national level,” Bettigole said, adding, “today cases are dropping rapidly and 53.1% of the city’s 5 to 11 have had their first dose of vaccine compared to 31.8% nationally. A huge jump forward although more work needs to be done.”

Beginning this week at health department community clinics, Philadelphians who complete their primary COVID vaccine series will receive $100 funded through a grant from the CDC.

Bettigole said people can receive the funds through a digital app a few days after or a physical gift card by mail in a couple of weeks.

“If you’ve been trying to get motivated to get your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, this is your moment,” Bettigole said.

A list of clinics will be available at https://www.phila.gov/covid. The program is scheduled to run for six weeks.

Copyright © 2022 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Health

Bay Area mask mandates: Health officials release guidelines for ending restrictions

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Health officers for the nine Bay Area jurisdictions that require face coverings in most indoor public spaces Thursday reached consensus on criteria to lift those orders.

The counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma and the City of Berkeley will lift the indoor masking requirement in public spaces not subject to state and federal masking rules when all the following occur:

  • The jurisdiction reaches the moderate (yellow) COVID-19 transmission tier, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and remains there for at least three weeks
  • COVID-19 hospitalizations in the jurisdiction are low and stable, in the judgment of the health officer
  • 80% of the jurisdiction’s total population is fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson (booster doses not considered)
  • OR Eight weeks have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by federal and state authorities for 5- to 11-year-olds

Why is there an eight week window?

“Because it will take at least that long for kids to start getting their two doses, they are three weeks apart, and you need another week or so to be fully immune,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a Stanford Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Disease Physician.

Bay Area residents react to possibility of mask guidelines being eased

Cody says the metrics were designed to be simple but thorough.

“Essentially we want to ensure that we have many layers of prevention, we want to make sure that the vaccination layer is really robust before we peel back the masking layer,” Cody said.

Santa Clara County is currently in the CDC’s orange tier, but transmission is trending down.

RELATED: Los Angeles passes one of the strictest COVID vaccine mandates in the US

“I think it’s going to be hard to say when we will meet all three metrics,” said Cody.

Cody says the most important metric to meet will be the vaccination requirement – adding some counties will get there faster.

“We are seeing 900 to 1,000 new first dose vaccinations across the county every single day,” said Contra Costa Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano.

Farnitano says if that pace keeps up, the county could reach the 80 percent mark within two to three months.

“We may be looking at December or maybe even January depending on the timing of the FDA authorization,” he said.

RELATED: Solano Co. defends past decision to keep businesses open

All Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley have adopted these guidelines with the exception of Solano County. Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas says he stands by his decision not to implement an indoor mask mandate.

“None of the counties that had such a mask mandate showed any benefit,” Matyas said. “All of them should have seen a reduction in disease within at most two weeks, none of them did.”

So far no Bay Area county meets the qualifications for all three metrics. Health officers say even if mandates are lifted, it won’t prevent individual businesses from imposing their own restrictions.

RELATED: SF General Hospital says 115 staff members are off schedule pending vaccine status

Separately from the other Bay Area jurisdictions, SF announced a more immediate easing of masking requirements beginning on October 15 in certain, select indoor settings where stable groups of fully vaccinated people gather. These settings include offices, gyms, and fitness centers, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings, and indoor college classes or other organized gatherings of individuals who meet regularly, not exceeding 100 people.

Currently every Bay Area county is in the orange tier, which means no county is eligible to ease the restrictions for three weeks.

Lifting a local indoor mask mandate would not prevent businesses, nonprofits, churches or others with public indoor spaces from imposing their own requirements.

VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine

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Health

Bay Area health officials to announce criteria for lifting regional mask mandates Thursday

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NOVATO, Calif. (KGO) — With COVID case rates on the decline, many wonder how long we’ll have to keep our facemasks on. Thursday, Bay Area health officers are expected to announce plans for a possible end to the region’s indoor masking mandate but the order may not end overnight.

“It’s time, it’s been 18 months,” said Adam Kovacks.

Kovacks says you’re working out at his Novato gym Sonoma Fit, you must still wear a mask, that’s not always easy, he hopes that mandate ends soon.

RELATED: UCSF doctors eyeing Santa Cruz after county drops indoor mask mandate

“If you’re still worried, wear your mask but it’s time we put the responsibility on the people, not small business,” said Kovacks.

Bay Area health officials could announce new criteria on Thursday, for easing COVID restrictions like indoor masking. That criteria may include vaccination rates, case rates and hospitalizations. Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody told supervisors, the numbers are improving.

“The plan is to develop a set of metrics we can share across the region in order to lift indoor masking, we’re getting very close,” said Cody.

Many in the Bay Area are hoping for a target date, when wearing a mask isn’t required.

RELATED: Los Angeles passes one of the strictest COVID vaccine mandates in the US

It’s hard to breathe with the masks on,” said Jesse Tassey from Novato.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told ABC7 News on Midday, she trusts health officers but will keep wearing her mask.

“Rule or no rule, I’ll keep wearing my mask inside restaurants, better safe than sorry,” said Schaaf.

San Mateo County officials say although vaccination rates are high it’s too early to lift masking rules.

“We know one thing is certain, COVID-19 is uncertain. I wouldn’t be surprised if two months from now, if mask orders are lifted we may be back to another mandate,” said San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa.

VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine

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Health

LA County mask mandate: With rate of COVID-19 transmission declining, when can we ditch masks indoors?

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LOS ANGELES (CNS) — With the rate of COVID-19 transmission declining in the county and vaccination numbers slowly climbing — likely boosted by current and upcoming inoculation requirements — the county’s public health director said she can foresee a time when residents will no longer have to wear masks in most indoor settings.

But dropping the county’s mask-wearing mandate will be contingent on continued drops in transmission, more widespread vaccinations and the absence of potentially more virulent strains of the coronavirus.

“I’m very cognizant that when we introduced the mask mandate in June, we noted that it was really related to increased transmission and feeling like we needed to add another layer of protection,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. And I think we did the right thing. But I also am aware when we have very low transmission and more people vaccinated, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to keep that mask mandate everywhere, assuming of course that we don’t have a dangerous variant that we need to protect ourselves from.”

“We are hopeful that with lower transmission and more people vaccinated, we would be able to lift that mask mandate in places where you can count on having lots and lots of people fully vaccinated,” she said.

It’s unclear when the day will come that the mandate can be lifted, with Ferrer noting, “I think we’re going to live with masking as a tool for awhile to come.” She also said the mandate will likely remain in place in schools, particularly in the younger grades since children under age 12 are not yet eligible for vaccinations.

Five Los Angeles County employees sue over vaccine mandate, alleging it’s unconstitutional

Masks could also remain a requirement in other large settings where people’s vaccination status isn’t being verified.

“But I do see a day where with lower rates of transmission, significantly lower rates of transmission, and many people vaccinated … we’re going to be in a different place and we would absolutely not need those masks everywhere we need them now,” she said.

Supervisor Janice Hahn noted that while the county’s case numbers have been trending downward, she knows “we’ve been here before.”

“I think a lot of us are wondering if we need to brace for another winter surge or if in fact the worst is behind us,” she said. “I’m personally hopeful that this time around the vaccines will make the difference even if we have another surge.”

Supervisor Holly Mitchell noted, however, that while the county’s overall case rate is falling, the rate is a countywide average, and there are some communities were residents remain at higher risk.

“The rate has not lowered equally across the county as a whole, that’s our average rate,” she said.

Ferrer concurred, saying higher transmission rates are persisting in areas with low levels of vaccination among residents. Black residents have long lagged behind other ethnic groups in terms of vaccination rates, particularly among younger residents.

LA County COVID hospitalizations drop under 800 for 1st time in nearly 3 months

The county on Thursday will begin imposing a vaccination mandate for people to work or patronize indoor bars, wineries, breweries and distilleries, but Ferrer said that pending requirement has not yet translated into an uptick in vaccinations among younger residents.

Also taking effect this Thursday is a rule that anyone attending an outdoor mega-event of 10,000 people or more — such as an NFL football game — must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours.

According to Ferrer, as of Sept. 30, 78% of eligible county residents aged 12 and up have received at least one dose of vaccine, while 69% are fully vaccinated. Of the overall county population of 10.3 million people, including those not yet eligible for the shots, 67% have received at least one dose, and 60% are fully vaccinated.

The county on Tuesday reported another 35 deaths due to COVID-19, raising the overall death toll to 26,195. Another 964 new cases were reported, for a pandemic total of 1,464,793.

The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus remained low at about 1%.

According to state figures, there were 748 COVID-positive patients hospitalized in the county as of Tuesday, down from 768 on Monday. There were 218 of those patients in intensive care, down from 227 a day earlier.

The number of COVID-positive people hospitalized in the county has fallen 32 times in the past 36days, bringing the number down from a summer peak of nearly 1,800.

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Health

Provincetown has new indoor mask mandate due to COVID-19 cluster

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The Provincetown Select Board has unanimously voted to enact an emergency indoor mask mandate — effective immediately in the Massachusetts town — in the wake of a COVID-19 cluster that has hundreds of positive associated cases.The Select Board made the vote during a joint emergency meeting with the Provincetown Board of Health Sunday evening.On July 19, Provincetown officials issued a mask advisory that asked people to wear masks indoors when social distancing could not be achieved.During the emergency meeting, the Select Board and Board of Health also voted to grant additional authority to Town Manager Alex Morse.On Saturday, Morse shared via Facebook that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is reporting that at least 430 confirmed COVID-19 cases are associated with the Provincetown cluster. Of these cases, 342 are Massachusetts residents and 153 of those people reside in Provincetown. The remainder of those who tested positive reside in other states.In his previous update last Wednesday, Morse said at least 256 confirmed coronavirus cases were associated with the cluster.During Sunday’s emergency meeting, Morse said that the DPH has granted an extension on the daily Fallon PCR testing and daily administration of COVID-19 vaccines that started on July 14. Those measures were slated to continue through Friday, July 30, and they have been extended for two weeks through Aug. 13.Morse did note, however, that Provincetown is starting to see a decline in its daily positivity rate and the town has resumed wastewater surveillance efforts. The positivity rate has dropped to 9% from the peak rate of 15%.Morse’s update on Saturday came a day after the DPH confirmed that the delta COVID-19 variant was detected in the Provincetown cluster.According to Morse, cases associated with the cluster among Massachusetts residents are found to be predominantly symptomatic (71%) with 69% of affected individuals reporting that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.“The unvaccinated, they were probably much rarer, actually, than the vaccinated, and yet, they make up a third of the infections,” said Dr. Shira Doron, the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.Doron says that unvaccinated people likely caused the delta COVID-19 variant to spread among the thousands of people who have visited Provincetown.“If it was ever going to happen, it was going to happen there with crowded nightclubs, a rainy weekend with a lot of indoor time, and, apparently, quite a lot of unvaccinated people showing up,” Doron said.Morse said apart from three hospitalizations — two in-state and one out-of-state — associated with the Provincetown cluster, symptoms are known to be mild and without complication.The cluster comes as discussions continue about whether COVID-19 booster shots are necessary for fully vaccinated people in the United States. Since the vast majority of breakthrough cases are mild and since data has not suggested immunity is waning over time, Doron says boosters are not needed at this time.“If it’s a mild infection, if it’s a common cold or a flu, does that justify going around and giving everybody another round of shots when the rest of the world hasn’t had their first shot?” Doron said.Doron says it is important to get people around the world vaccinated against COVID-19 to help put an end to mutating variants.Massachusetts COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and fatalitiesMassachusetts vaccination progress

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. —

The Provincetown Select Board has unanimously voted to enact an emergency indoor mask mandate — effective immediately in the Massachusetts town — in the wake of a COVID-19 cluster that has hundreds of positive associated cases.

The Select Board made the vote during a joint emergency meeting with the Provincetown Board of Health Sunday evening.

On July 19, Provincetown officials issued a mask advisory that asked people to wear masks indoors when social distancing could not be achieved.

During the emergency meeting, the Select Board and Board of Health also voted to grant additional authority to Town Manager Alex Morse.

On Saturday, Morse shared via Facebook that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is reporting that at least 430 confirmed COVID-19 cases are associated with the Provincetown cluster. Of these cases, 342 are Massachusetts residents and 153 of those people reside in Provincetown. The remainder of those who tested positive reside in other states.

In his previous update last Wednesday, Morse said at least 256 confirmed coronavirus cases were associated with the cluster.

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During Sunday’s emergency meeting, Morse said that the DPH has granted an extension on the daily Fallon PCR testing and daily administration of COVID-19 vaccines that started on July 14. Those measures were slated to continue through Friday, July 30, and they have been extended for two weeks through Aug. 13.

Morse did note, however, that Provincetown is starting to see a decline in its daily positivity rate and the town has resumed wastewater surveillance efforts. The positivity rate has dropped to 9% from the peak rate of 15%.

Morse’s update on Saturday came a day after the DPH confirmed that the delta COVID-19 variant was detected in the Provincetown cluster.

According to Morse, cases associated with the cluster among Massachusetts residents are found to be predominantly symptomatic (71%) with 69% of affected individuals reporting that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The unvaccinated, they were probably much rarer, actually, than the vaccinated, and yet, they make up a third of the infections,” said Dr. Shira Doron, the hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Doron says that unvaccinated people likely caused the delta COVID-19 variant to spread among the thousands of people who have visited Provincetown.

“If it was ever going to happen, it was going to happen there with crowded nightclubs, a rainy weekend with a lot of indoor time, and, apparently, quite a lot of unvaccinated people showing up,” Doron said.

Morse said apart from three hospitalizations — two in-state and one out-of-state — associated with the Provincetown cluster, symptoms are known to be mild and without complication.

The cluster comes as discussions continue about whether COVID-19 booster shots are necessary for fully vaccinated people in the United States. Since the vast majority of breakthrough cases are mild and since data has not suggested immunity is waning over time, Doron says boosters are not needed at this time.

“If it’s a mild infection, if it’s a common cold or a flu, does that justify going around and giving everybody another round of shots when the rest of the world hasn’t had their first shot?” Doron said.

Doron says it is important to get people around the world vaccinated against COVID-19 to help put an end to mutating variants.

Massachusetts COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and fatalities

Massachusetts vaccination progress



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