San Mateo County announces new guidance regarding schools, gatherings and travel; Vaccine eligibility expands
Schools
County Health’s Communicable Disease Control Unit worked with the County Office of Education to align safety guidance with new information from the CDC. The new guidelines allow for a minimum distance of 3 feet between student chairs. In addition, all individuals must wear masks at all times.
Gatherings & Live Events
The California Department of Public Health has issued new guidelines for gatherings and live events. For the Orange Tier starting on April 15, outdoor gathering size increases to 50 people. For private events or meetings such as receptions or conferences, outdoor gatherings are limited to 100 people.
Indoor live events or performances are allowed with capacity limits and modifications including physical distancing, advance ticket purchases, designated areas for eating and drinking, and attendance limited to in-state visitors.
Travel
The California Department of Public Health has also updated its travel guidance. CDPH and the CDC recommend delaying travel until persons are fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated travelers should follow CDC travel guidance and are not required to test or quarantine before or after travel unless they have symptoms concerning for COVID-19 disease.
Residents Age 16+ Eligible for Vaccine Starting April 15; Sign Up for Updates
As the state expands vaccine eligibility to residents 16 and older beginning April 15, vaccine supply remains severely constrained, and the County continues to focus on vaccinating eligible individuals at local community clinics and residents in lower-income and harder to reach neighborhoods.
Residents should check with their primary care provider and pharmacies for appointments. There are now 33 pharmacy locations offering vaccines in San Mateo County, including Rite Aid, Safeway/Albertsons, Costco, CVS, and Walgreens. New sites are added every few days. Check these companies’ websites for more information.
All residents regardless of current eligibility can sign up for the County’s notification tool to receive updates about the County’s vaccine rollout. The County notification tool is available in Spanish, Chinese simplified and traditional, and Tagalog. Through Google translate, the form is also available in multiple other languages.
Residents should also sign up for the state’s MyTurn tool, which is also used for some appointment scheduling at community vaccine events.
As of April 7, according to State Immunization Registry data, 333,810 individuals have been vaccinated with 529,633 doses which represents 52 percent of the total eligible county population ages 16 and older.
COVID-19 Case Counts
County Health reports a total of 40,708 total cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday April 7, 2021. Deaths attributed to COVID-19 stand at 553.
Additional information such as cases by age group, cases by race/ethnicity and deaths by age is available online.
