While coronavirus infections in San Francisco have been dropping steadily, health experts warn residents against being complacent and ignoring health and safety protocols.
The Bay Area has begun reopening its economy as many establishments have started serving customers once again. Health officials are anxious about the situation potentially putting the state in another setback.
Decreasing Infections
A Bakersfield family came from their residence to visit some of their favorite areas in Fisherman’s Wharf during the weekend. “Just have some seafood, eat on the pier. We pretty much we followed the rules, and we continue to follow the rules, not to break them because they were made to save us,” Floyd Newsome said, going out with his family.
Recently, San Francisco officials recorded the lowest number of coronavirus infection rates since the beginning of the health crisis in March 2020. Authorities revealed a seven-day average of daily cases was down from the winter surge’s 374 to only 29.
“We’ve kind of stuck to staying outside which is nice. It’s exciting that there are more outdoor options that we didn’t have before. So I think a lot of good’s come out of it,” Pacifica residents Lauren Balcioni said.
However, despite the positive situation, the COVID-19 infections are starting to rise again and more people are losing their lives to the virus. “The seven-day average of deaths continues to hover at 1,000 deaths per day. I remain deeply concerned about this trajectory,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
Most state residents can expect to be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine if they are at least 16 years of age by May 1. California officials, however, could potentially order the expanded eligibility two weeks earlier than other regions.
Scientists are continuing research to determine whether vaccinated individuals still have a chance to spread the COVID-19 virus. They are monitoring 12,000 vaccinated college students and who they come into contact with to figure out the answer.
“We hope that, within the next five or so months, we’ll be able to answer the very important question about whether vaccinated people get infected asymptomatically and if they do, do they transmit the infection to others?” Dr. Anthony Fauci said, CBS Local reported.
About 43% of San Francisco residents who were at least 16 years of age were administered with the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.