Will Delta variant bring new CA restrictions? Newsom says it depends on vaccinations
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Delta variant now accounts for more than 51% of new COVID-19 cases across the country. Los Angeles County public health officials recommend everyone wear masks inside regardless of their vaccination status. At the state level, Governor Gavin Newsom says that might not be needed.
"If we continue to get people vaccinated that'll be unnecessary and this is the call that anyone who hasn't been vaccinated get vaccinated," said Governor Gavin Newsom.
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Across California and more specifically in Marin County, anyone who has been hospitalized or passed away due to COVID-19 has not been vaccinated according to Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis.
"I'm not surprised that the governor is having to face some tough decisions about what the next steps are. The fact is that the Delta variant is increasingly present across the state of California and the Bay Area. It is more infectious and is contributing to cases especially among unvaccinated people," said Dr. Willis.
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Dr. Willis says unlike Southern California, Marin County has no intention of recommending vaccinated people wear masks indoors unless the state requires it.
"The pattern could not be clearer when we're seeing transmission it's among unvaccinated people and it's being driven primarily by this new variant the delta variant," said Dr. Willis.
70% of Marin's COVID-19 cases are attributable to the Delta variant according to Dr. Willis with hospitalizations right now invariably among unvaccinated people. Dr. Willis says there have been no deaths in Marin County in the past month. The county's past two deaths were unvaccinated, older residents.
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Which is why the number one recommendation remains.
"If we're looking to earn our freedoms and not have to worry about these questions and whether or not we have to go backwards in our policies and start re-covering our face, the answer is relatively simple to get vaccinated," said Dr. Willis.
VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine
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