Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.
Latest Updates
Bay Area health officials reinstate indoor mask mandate
While vaccinated people can contract delta COVID-19 variant, vaccines still best defense
Evictions expected to spike due to national eviction moratorium ending
US employers ramp up vaccination pressure on white-collar employees
COVID-19 By The Numbers
Monday, August 2
5:11 p.m.: Bay Area health officials reinstate indoor mask mandate
Health officials in San Francisco and six other Bay Area counties have announced that they are reinstating a mask mandate for all indoor settings as COVID-19 infections surge. Monday’s order applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status, and starts on Tuesday.
California last week recommended that people wear masks indoors, but stopped short of issuing a mandate, following guidance from the U.S Centers for Disease Control.
Three other California counties have already adopted mandates as COVID rates rise because of the highly contagious delta variant.
11:04 a.m.: While vaccinated people can contract delta COVID-19 variant, vaccines still best defense
The delta variant has changed California’s COVID-19 landscape in a big way. New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that even fully immunized people can contract the virus and even pass it to others.
Still, vaccines are seen as the best chance at reducing viral transmission. Getting immunized does protect you from getting very ill or dying from COVID-19. The vaccine also mostly prevents symptomatic cases from the original alpha variant, though, it’s slightly different with the delta variant.
“There definitely can be transmission from symptomatic breakthroughs,” said UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Monica Gandhi. She explains that the delta variant can do this because it’s much more contagious and can transmit higher quantities of the virus, even to fully vaccinated people.
“The trick is we need to get transmission down,” Gandhi said. “We need to get more people vaccinated so that there’s not even a virus around for all of us to see to get mild breakthroughs. And that’s really what we’re doing right now with resuming masking inside, and also importantly, getting our vaccination rates as high as we can.”
Several California counties are requiring everyone to wear a mask in indoor public settings, though state and federal officials say it’s only recommended, not required, for fully immunized people.
However, Gandhi says strong mask policies are needed to combat this variant. She also stresses that people should refrain from gathering indoors and unmasked with friends who aren’t vaccinated.
“We are acting like vaccines aren’t working, and that’s what people seem to be hearing. These vaccines are working,” Gandhi said. “They are profoundly effective at preventing severe disease and death.”
While many counties are seeing increases in hospitalizations, it’s far from the surge that California saw during the winter. Gandhi said public health departments will have to work hard to explain that more vaccinated people means there’s less virus in circulation, leading to fewer deaths among those who can’t get their shots.
10:06 a.m.: Evictions expected to spike due to national eviction moratorium ending
Housing courts around the country are ramping up work following the end of the federal eviction moratorium, according to the Associated Press.
Housing advocates fear that the recent end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium will result in millions of people being evicted. Most expect the wave of evictions to build slowly over the coming weeks and months as the bureaucracy of removing people from their homes restarts Monday.
The Biden administration announced Thursday it would allow a nationwide ban to expire. It argued that its hands were tied after the Supreme Court signaled the measure needed to come to an end.
California has its own eviction moratorium that is in place through the end of September.
9:43 a.m.: US employers ramp up vaccination pressure on white-collar employees
Employers across the U.S. are increasingly losing patience with unvaccinated workers.
According to the Associated Press, a growing number of businesses are requiring their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, alarmed by the rise of the more contagious delta variant.
Some employers getting tougher with vaccination requirements:
- Federal government
- The state governments of California and New York
- Tech giants Google and Facebook
- Media giant, Walt Disney Co.
- National Football League
Some hospitals, universities, restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues have also started requiring vaccines.
In contrast, major companies that rely on lower-income blue-collar workers — food manufacturers, warehouses, supermarkets, and other store chains — are shying away from vaccine mandates for fear of driving away employees and worsening the labor shortages such businesses are facing.
Sunday, August 1
10:51 a.m.: Tokyo’s COVID-19 infections top 4,000 for the first time
Tokyo is seeing new records every day in new cases of COVID-19. For the first time, Japan’s capital has exceeded 4,000 coronavirus cases—a record high and nearly four times as many cases were reported just a week ago.
In the past day, 21 Olympic games-related personnel have tested positive, none of which were athletes.
On Friday, extended a state of emergency to areas around Tokyo and Osaka to tackle the COVID-19 surge.
Find older coronavirus updates on our previous blog page here.
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