Annual speech to focus on the ‘path forward’ as omicron fades in Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County Board Chairman Terry Withrow will deliver the State of the County address Tuesday evening just before the state’s coronavirus mask mandate expires.
Withrow’s speech will chart a “new path forward” for the county as the omicron surge is fading and no one is sure what happens next with COVID-19.
County staff said the speech will recognize the accomplishments and resiliency of county employees in the past year. The annual address will lead off the 6:30 p.m. board meeting at Tenth Street Place.
The state masking rules that have required county residents to wear face coverings in indoor public places will expire after Tuesday for people who are vaccinated against COVID-19. Some local jurisdictions will maintain their own masking rules after the state mandate expires, but Stanislaus County will follow the state’s guidance, said Kamlesh Kaur, a county health services spokeswoman.
The state will still require masks for unvaccinated people in indoor public settings.
Regardless of vaccine status, face coverings still must be worn on buses, trains, airplanes, taxis and ride shares.
In addition, a mask mandate will remain in effect for:
- Workers in a K-12 school or child-care center;
- emergency shelters and health care centers;
- state and local correctional centers;
- workers in long-term-care and senior care facilities;
The state has lifted testing requirements for people to visit nursing homes.
According to the state, indoor events for 1,000 to 10,000 people will require vaccination or a negative test. Masks are required for people not vaccinated.
COVID omicron in decline
The numbers are trending downward for the omicron variant, which became the dominant COVID-19 strain in Stanislaus County in January.
The seven-day average case rate was 67.7 per 100,000 population on Thursday, coming down from a high of 204 per 100,000 on Jan. 22.
There were 183 COVID-positive patients in local hospitals Thursday after those admissions peaked at 267 on Feb. 1. The number jumped back to 193 on Friday, with 46 patients in intensive care units.
Four deaths reported Thursday and Friday increased the two-year total to 1,588.
According to an online dashboard, the county had 26 deaths caused by COVID-19 the week starting Jan. 30 and 18 deaths the week starting Jan. 23. For Stanislaus County, the deadliest two-week period of the coronavirus pandemic was 122 deaths reported in mid-December 2021.
Kaur said the omicron surge has been less severe than previous waves.
“Despite hospitals seeing a rush of hospitalizations, our ICUs didn’t require overflow facilities, unlike past surges,” Kaur said by email. “Most of the hospitalized patients for COVID-19 were unvaccinated, which is a further testament of vaccines working against severe hospitalization and deaths. We continue to recommend our community members to get vaccinated.”
The State of the County speech will be presented at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the basement board chambers of Tenth Street Place, at 1010 10th St., Modesto. Seating is not limited, but social distancing is encouraged. Overflow seating will be available. The county will post information on the latest standards for face coverings. People can watch a live stream online at www.stancounty.com/sclive.
