Indoor eateries, movie theaters and gyms are reopening after Orange County’s virus statistics have improved enough for state officials to raise the province’s level of the country’s reopening system.
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The reopening also follows the sudden changes to last week’s four-level reopening system, which made it easier for the provinces’ path to reopen once 400,000 extra vaccines have been administered to people in the 400 hardest-hit postcodes.
That goal was reached on Friday.
“With this benchmarking measure, and because vaccines are slowing down the spread of disease and serious illness, the previously announced update to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy is taking into account the progress made with the administration of vaccines,” reads a Friday statement from the State Department of Public Health.
OC moves from the most restrictive level, the Purple Tier, to the Red Tier.
That means Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm could reopen next month at limited capacity for California residents.
Angel Stadium and other outdoor sports venues may also reopen next month.
“What this means in practice is that California is making good progress with the commitment to deliver more doses to our most severely affected communities across the state,” said Secretary of State for Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly, said in a Friday newsletter.
The sudden changes to the theme park’s leadership follow a series of sudden updates – from reopening criteria to reopening the school – as Gavin Newsom is likely to face a re-election.
All of OC’s neighboring regions are expected to reach the Red Tiger by next Tuesday.
The pandemic has also refocused on systemic health issues facing working-class neighborhoods in Orange County, and how critical local health clinics and community organizations are in addressing various inequalities.
The clinics and community organizations gathered in the early stages of the pandemic to launch outreach efforts to educate residents about the virus, provide resources for testing and isolation.
Now the clinics are of great importance to vaccinate residents in the communities hardest hit.
“From day one, it was absolutely essential. It’s just that our systems are currently in place that do not really cater to underserved and marginalized populations. So, for all our public health efforts, I think it’s the communities that are overlooked, ”said Sanghyuk Shin, an epidemiologist and public health expert at UC Irvine.
Shin said he fears residents in OC’s most vulnerable communities will be hit again by new infections as the reopening takes place at a rapid pace.
I feel that in recent years that when the virus picks up – just constantly being too late to take action and opening up too soon – it’s a pattern we’re seeing every time and I think it’s contributing significantly to the number deaths and the diseases we saw, “Shin said in a Friday telephone interview.
He said infections hit the working class neighborhoods hard because most residents did not have the option to work from home, along with living in overcrowded housing.
‘If you look at the professions where the virus is transmitted, it’s people who really do not have the chance – the luxury of working from home – are strongly affected. “Of course, when things open up and when there is more eating inside or outside and other businesses, it is these workers who are more exposed,” Shin said.
Meanwhile, OC’s coronavirus hospitalizations have dropped to levels not yet seen before winter tissue, where more than 2,000 people have been admitted to hospital.
According to the country’s health care agency, 245 people were admitted to hospital on Friday, including 74 in intensive care units.
Yet deaths continue to rise.
The virus has now killed 4,408 people, including 29 new deaths reported today.
It kills about eight times more people than the flu kills annually.
Orange County has averaged about 20,000 deaths a year since 2016, including 543 annual flu deaths, according to state health data.
It is also more than heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and strokes, respectively, annually.
The virus is also in the forefront of average annual cancer deaths.
According to the state’s death statistics, cancer kills more than 4,600 people, heart disease kills more than 2,800, more than 1,400 die as a result of Alzheimer’s disease and strokes kill more than 1,300 people.
Shin said he was concerned that the reopening could provoke another wave, which is impossible to predict how bad it could be.
‘I think at this stage it makes more sense to be careful with the opening and I think the message we are giving about opening a possibility could lead to a slower decrease in the number of cases, as well as possibly higher numbers such as the next wave hits. . That is especially what I am worried about, “said Shin.
He also said the reopening depends on how many officials are comfortable with deaths and hospitalizations.
‘This is how many cases and hospitalizations and deaths we are prepared to accept. In my opinion, I think we should do everything in our power to reduce it at this stage until the vaccinations have reached as many people as possible. ”
Spencer Custodio is a reporter for Voice of OC. You can contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio