ARTICLE
The COVID-19 storylines of the past year seemingly are repeating themselves now more aggressively than we would imagine just a month ago. The Delta variant is rapidly increasing virus incidence and spreading through the region, the state and the nation. COVID-19 vaccines are making a difference, and they’ve prevented nearly all recipients from becoming very sick or dying. But with infections surging among the unvaccinated, hospitalizations reaching a height not seen since February, and just half the population fully inoculated, the coronavirus is not done with us yet. “Employers should follow the state’s lead: require their employees to be fully vaccinated, or undergo regular, frequent COVID-19 testing to ensure their colleagues and the public are protected,” Dee Dee Myers, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s senior advisor and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, wrote in an article in the Sacramento Business Journal last week. “A healthy California economy starts with a healthy workplace, and the vaccine will get us there.” California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, is requiring all legislative employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face termination, according to a memo sent to employees on Monday. “Get vaccinated or lose your job” is the stern message. According to the Speaker, this requirement will provide additional protection for anyone entering the state Capitol. However, in a statement, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego said she’ll continue to monitor the situation to determine whether a mandate for the Senate workforce at large is needed. I don’t question either legislative leaders’ actions, but it seems to me that all legislative staffers and other employees working in the same building — the state Capitol — should have the same policy be consistently applied for both the Assembly and the state Senate. Anyone following the California legislative process knows that the last few weeks of the legislative session, the Capitol halls are filled to the max as lobbyists, reporters and the public show up in large numbers while lawmakers negotiate deals in the waning days of the legislative session. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is considering a mandate requiring people to show proof of the vaccine to enter bars, restaurants, concert venues and gyms. In San Diego County, officials are asking employers to obtain proof their workers have vaccine shots or to test them weekly. The San Francisco Mayor has also made similar requirements for City employees. Los Angeles County is stating that masks are required at large outdoor concerts and sporting events that attract 10,000 or more attendees. In Santa Cruz County, our public health officer recommended similar actions last week but has not mandated a requirement. This eNews report includes a link to the COVID-19 Employer Toolkit, but I am including it again here: COVID-19 Employer information page. For the particular folks who like to read data, the Santa Cruz County Public Health Department has created visual data points that help us better understand the virus, its capacity to increase or decrease, mostly because of human behavior and activity. Take a look at this graphic that shows the average number of daily COVID-19 cases in Santa Cruz County in the last 14 days: SantaCruzCounty 14 day average. You can see the jump in cases to +141%. The clear and unequivocal message is: Please wear a mask indoors and in crowded gathering areas. Encourage your employees to get vaccinated and follow public health-related best practices.
The COVID-19 storylines of the past year seemingly are repeating themselves now more aggressively than we would imagine just a month ago. The Delta variant is rapidly increasing virus incidence and spreading through the region, the state and the nation.
COVID-19 vaccines are making a difference, and they’ve prevented nearly all recipients from becoming very sick or dying. But with infections surging among the unvaccinated, hospitalizations reaching a height not seen since February, and just half the population fully inoculated, the coronavirus is not done with us yet.
“Employers should follow the state’s lead: require their employees to be fully vaccinated, or undergo regular, frequent COVID-19 testing to ensure their colleagues and the public are protected,” Dee Dee Myers, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s senior advisor and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, wrote in an article in the Sacramento Business Journal last week. “A healthy California economy starts with a healthy workplace, and the vaccine will get us there.”
California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, is requiring all legislative employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face termination, according to a memo sent to employees on Monday. “Get vaccinated or lose your job” is the stern message. According to the Speaker, this requirement will provide additional protection for anyone entering the state Capitol. However, in a statement, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego said she’ll continue to monitor the situation to determine whether a mandate for the Senate workforce at large is needed.
I don’t question either legislative leaders’ actions, but it seems to me that all legislative staffers and other employees working in the same building — the state Capitol — should have the same policy be consistently applied for both the Assembly and the state Senate. Anyone following the California legislative process knows that the last few weeks of the legislative session, the Capitol halls are filled to the max as lobbyists, reporters and the public show up in large numbers while lawmakers negotiate deals in the waning days of the legislative session.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is considering a mandate requiring people to show proof of the vaccine to enter bars, restaurants, concert venues and gyms. In San Diego County, officials are asking employers to obtain proof their workers have vaccine shots or to test them weekly. The San Francisco Mayor has also made similar requirements for City employees. Los Angeles County is stating that masks are required at large outdoor concerts and sporting events that attract 10,000 or more attendees.
In Santa Cruz County, our public health officer recommended similar actions last week but has not mandated a requirement. This eNews report includes a link to the COVID-19 Employer Toolkit, but I am including it again here: COVID-19 Employer information page.
For the particular folks who like to read data, the Santa Cruz County Public Health Department has created visual data points that help us better understand the virus, its capacity to increase or decrease, mostly because of human behavior and activity. Take a look at this graphic that shows the average number of daily COVID-19 cases in Santa Cruz County in the last 14 days: SantaCruzCounty 14 day average. You can see the jump in cases to +141%.
The clear and unequivocal message is: Please wear a mask indoors and in crowded gathering areas. Encourage your employees to get vaccinated and follow public health-related best practices.