County and state move into endemic stage of COVID
By Debra Moore
From pandemic to endemic — that’s the transition that Gov. Gavin Newsom envisions for the state, and Plumas County will follow that lead, as it has throughout the past two years of the pandemic.
“We are moving past the crisis phase into a phase where we will work to live with this virus,” Newsom said during his press conference yesterday, Feb. 17, as he unveiled his SMARTER Plan, which is an acronym for shots, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education and Rx (various treatments).
The governor made it clear that the virus won’t disappear or be defeated as originally hoped, but rather people will adjust to living with it. Mask mandates for the vaccinated were lifted this week in most settings, but masks are still required at schools, healthcare facilities and public transportation. The future of school masks will be considered again at the end of the month.
During last night’s Plumas Unified School District meeting of the board of trustees, some parents and students asked that the mandate be lifted locally now, but Plumas County Public Health and the school district will continue to follow the state guidelines.
In an interview this morning, Plumas Unified Superintendent Terry Oestreich said she received notice from the state that the mask mandate will be revisited Feb. 28, and she anticipates that there could be a tiered approach to the mask situation — perhaps depending on case rates.
Confirmed COVID cases are dropping across both the state and the county. During the past seven days, Plumas County reported just 39 cases, down from numbers that posted in the hundreds for weeks. The schools are also posting a significant reduction in cases – just one in the past two days reported by Plumas Unified. Similarly, Feather River College is also experiencing a reduction in cases.
