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8h ago

California’s Summer COVID Wave Prompts Targeted Indoor Masking as Wastewater Levels Rise

Vaccine access remains constrained as new federal rules complicate fall shots for many under 65.

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FILE — California Gov. Gavin Newsom holds a face mask while speaking at a news conference in Oakland, Calif., on July 26, 2021. California is bringing back a statewide indoor mask mandate. Newsom's administration announced the new mandate will start Wednesday, Dec. 15 and last until Jan. 15, 2022. The order comes as the per capita rate of new coronavirus cases in California has jumped 47% in the past two weeks. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
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Overview

  • CDC tracking shows infections growing or likely growing in 30 states, with the West reporting the nation’s highest wastewater concentrations.
  • Yolo County’s Dr. Aimee Sisson urges everyone age 2 and up to mask indoors in West Sacramento, where wastewater levels are high, and advises indoor masking for higher‑risk people in areas at medium levels such as Davis and Woodland.
  • Statewide test positivity reached 12.07% for the week ending Aug. 23, up from 6.03% four weeks earlier, with Los Angeles at 13.44%, Orange County at 18.1%, and San Francisco at 8.7%.
  • Hospital admissions rose to 3.62 per 100,000 residents for the week ending Aug. 23 from 1.9 four weeks prior, and emergency‑department visits for COVID‑like illness are up in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Clara counties.
  • The FDA has approved the 2025–26 COVID vaccine, but doses are not yet widely available, and a federal requirement for many adults under 65 to consult a provider has drawn criticism from former Surgeon General Jerome Adams.