"The change aligns with the California Department of Public Healths (CDPH) decision to let expire the statewide indoor mask requirement, which was instated on December 15 during the latest COVID-19 surge," the county said Wednesday in a news release. "People can continue to choose to wear face coverings around others whether its mandated or not and should respect peoples choices around their health. As evidence continues to show, vaccinations and boosters remain the best defense against the virus.". She has repeatedly stressed at. CMS also will investigate the consequences of private equity firms owning nursing homes, which has been linked to poorer care. "Masking is an essential tool that limits the transmission of the Delta variant as we continue to all get vaccinated," Relucio said. (Hellmann and Goldman, 2/28), AP: Neither Napa nor other Bay Area counties will rely on the road map announced in October for lifting local masking orders, Relucio said. August 5, 2021 / 5:45 PM Photo: Pam Menegakis/Unsplash. A discussion is raging on social media regarding whether mask mandates and isolation as a result of COVID measures have caused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lower speech standards for children. California is lifting its mask mandate soon, but each county has the freedom to impose their own mandate. Here's how to decide, Napa school district suspends COVID-19 worker vaccination deadline set for March 31, Napa County will follow California guidance, lift school mask-wearing mandate March 12, Napa Valley Expo director suggests future changes at Town & Country Fair, Napa Valley Marathon to return to wine country roads from pandemic purgatory, Napa school board to hear resolution opposing future mask requirements, Global race is on to improve EV range in the cold, Moscow reportedly threatened new parents in Ukraine: Register your newborns as Russian or else, The impact of climate change will be felt worse in these three U.S. cities. "Some people may understandably feel anxious about these changes to masking requirements in the county," the county said. It is strongly recommended that all Sonoma County law enforcement, fire, and EMS employees receive the flu vaccine this year. NAPA COUNTY, CA Napa County announced Wednesday it will ease its mask mandate Feb. 16 in alignment with the state of California. All Rights Reserved. The vote was met with loud cheers and applause from nearly 200 parents and students. Biden To Launch Ambitious Overhaul Of Nursing Home Quality (Tornay, 2/28), Voice of OC: A combination of preventative strategies, which included mask use, vaccination, boosters and testing, along with the communitys cooperation helped get the Bay Area through this last surge together as a stronger community, the county said. As of June 15, the State of California fully reopened the economy and moved beyond its Blueprint for a Safer Economy, allowing all business sectors that previously had capacity limits to return to usual operations. The population of Davis rises by more than 35,000 at the start of each quarter at the University of California - Davis. Although Napa County has high vaccination rates, with 75% of eligible residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19, there is still a concerning rise in hospitalizations that is threatening hospital capacity," said Dr. Karen Relucio, Public Health Officer for Napa County, in a news release. (Halverstadt, 2/28), The Washington Post: California Made A Historic Investment In School Counselors. Street homelessness and the misery tied to it appear to be surging to new highs across San Diego. (Sheets, 2/28), Fresno Bee: Get unlimited digital access to the Napa Valley Register! You can cancel at any time. Blum served as president and chairman of Blum Capital Partners, an equity investment company he founded in 1975, and was a longtime member for the University of California Board of Regents, the body that oversees the system. BottleRock returned in early September and drew an estimated 120,000 spectators over three days, as promoters required proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test to enter. Members of Congress will sit maskless in front of the president, some of them applauding, some not, but the visual message if they were masked would be that the pandemic remains in full bloom. "People walk in and see everyone wearing a mask, they are reminded that we are still in a pandemic," he said. Napa Countys largest public school system has hit pause on an impending requirement that its employees receive full vaccination against the c. (Talev, 3/1), Politico: Sonoma County Cautious As California Eases Mask Requirements In Schools, Voice of OC: Napa Valley is 100% open and welcoming visitors. San Francisco Public Schools Wont Drop Masks Despite Citys Health Officials And California Lifting Mandate Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE The state of California's indoor mask mandate, which was issued on. After steadily increasing throughout the new year, COVID-19 cases in Napa County dropped for the first time last week, falling 30% to 1,394 for the week ending Feb. 3. Joining all other Bay Area jurisdictions in move, except for Santa Clara County. Tracy Tighe of Napa recently attended the Cabi Scoop convention in Phoenix, AZ. Fresno Bee: The treatment, called cilta-cel and developed by Janssen and Legend Biotech, involves taking immune cells from a patients own body and engineering them in a lab to fight a patients cancer. The statewide indoor masking mandate order was lifted on Wednesday, February 16, 2022. On Wednesday, Illinois announced that face coverings will no longer be required to enter supermarkets, restaurants or other indoor venues starting Feb. 28, although mask requirements will stay in place at schools, as in California. While . During the week, local professional artists visit the classrooms and work with the students using a variety of art mediums. Senate Republicans Block Bill That Would Preserve The Right To Abortion (Lea, 2/24), Capitol Weekly: But those who did sounded skeptical that Congress had meant to give the agency what they said was vast power to set national economic policy. Its A Wait-And-See Scenario Now, Los Angeles Times: In 2022, we were recognized by Forbes as one of the World's Best Employers and one of the Best Employers for Diversity. Tents and makeshift homes line downtown sidewalks, open space in Balboa Park and other corners of the city. Thats an upward revision from an estimate of around 20% of free tests ordered by people in high vulnerability Zip Codes that White House officials had earlier provided to The Associated Press. Under Biden's directive, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will publish regulations addressing safety and quality. A sign in a business window along Chestnut Street reminds customers to wear face masks while indoor their store in San Francisco on Jan. 4, 2022. California's Gov. The bill, dubbed the Women's Health Protection Act, aimed to "protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide abortion services." Napa, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties jointly issued an advisory Monday with San Benito County to recommend that residents in all four counties wear face coverings when inside public places like . "Bay Area health officers, in alignment with CDPH, continue to strongly recommend masks be used as an effective tool to prevent the spread of the virus especially when case rates are high, or when additional personal protection is needed," the county said. So, will they? Gov. "It's part of our new reality, you know, grocery shopping, running errands and going to get tested," Davis resident Susan Perez said.The $80 million project includes testing for people with and without symptoms on a regular basis. Dr. Bronners, The Soap Company, Dips Into Psychedelics, Voice Of San Diego: Humanity Has A Brief And Rapidly Closing Window To Avoid A Hotter, Deadly Future, U.N. Duke Estimates 15% Of Breast Cancer Cases Are Overdiagnosed, Stat: "Some people may understandably feel anxious about these changes to masking requirements in the county," the county said. Please enter valid email address to continue. The fatality on Feb. 5 is one of three reported in Napa County this month, along with the deaths of two Napa city residents. The existing masking requirement at public and private K-12 schools will become a recommendation, the county education and health offices said. President Joe Biden is scheduled to appear before a joint session of the 117th Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives to deliver the 2022 State of the Union address at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday. (Calix, 2/28), Sacramento Bee: Ambulance Workers In L.A., O.C. Please note that effective, June 30, 2022, Gap Inc. will no longer require any of its employees to wear face masks or require proof of COVID vaccination, unless required by local or state/provincial mandates or as part of Gap Inc's quarantine guidelinesafter being exposed to or testing positive for COVID. Goodbye, Masks In Schools: California will end its statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools at the stroke of midnight March 12, Gov. (2/28), Napa Valley Register: (Brennan, 2/28), AP: We cannot achieve health equity for Black patients without expanding the Black physician workforce, and the nations medical institutions are not achieving that goal. Jane Adams took her twins Sam and Ellery to get tested. NAPA (CBS SF) -- Following the lead of several other San Francisco Bay Area counties, Napa health officials issued an order Thursday, mandating indoor masking, regardless of vaccination status, in all workplaces and indoor public settings. "People can continue to choose to wear face coverings around others whether its mandated or not and should respect peoples choices around their health. L.A. County Aligns With California To End School Mask Mandate (Chen, 2/28), Modern Healthcare: The decision sets up a likely conflict in L.A. Unified between those who favor indoor masking rules and those who dont. However, medical experts say there are reasons to be optimistic. The White House says 40% of COVID-19 tests ordered through its program to distribute free at-home rapid tests have gone to Americans in distressed areas. Hourly Range: $15.50 - $16.50 USD With reports from Bay City News Service and The Associated Press. For now, the lone Bay Area holdout is Santa Clara County, where county health officials argue that lifting local indoor mask requirements would present an unnecessary risk to residents who are vulnerable to the virus. Moving forward, we are transitioning our response to live with COVID-19, as testing, vaccine eligibility and treatment options become more available, while acknowledging that we are not in an endemic phase yet, she said in the statement. In announcing the impending rule relaxations Feb. 7, state officials also announced that Indoor mega-events with more than 1,000 people will have to require vaccinations or negative tests for those attending and those who are unvaccinated will be required to wear masks. Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Tracking the drought: Map shows conditions across SF Bay Area, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7, CA to lift indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people on Feb. 15, Newsom says. Last week, Clovis Unifieds school board voted to change its policy so that unmasked students wont be excluded from the classroom. California Healthline 1998-2023. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to our servicemembers and their families, said Reps. Katie Porter and Jimmy Panetta in a letter to the director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. NAPA, Calif. - Napa County on Thursday announced it is joining seven other Bay Area counties and the City of Berkeley with an indoor mask mandate, due to the rising number of COVID-19. Their case positivity rates are a sign of how much COVID is in a community is relatively low. Fully vaccinated individuals are recommended to continue indoor masking when the risk may be high. Napa Valley is better than ever, and were excited to invite you to explore all that our legendary valley has to offer. Offering world-class wine, winemakers, and wineries, Napa Valley is ready to welcome you with a taste of the good life. (Desai, 2/28) DSH-Napa is open for both in-person and tele-visits. Further, indoor masking will still be required in California for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, on public transportation and in health care settings and congregate settings such as correctional facilities, homeless shelters and long-term care facilities.