Santa Clara County May See Another Surge, COVID Variants Increase

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Another surge in COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County may be likely as officials announced on Thursday that “every variant of concern” has been detected in the county.

The first two cases of a variant first detected in New York were reported in the county this week, in addition to 92 confirmed cases of the variant first detected in the United Kingdom, three confirmed cases of the variant first detected in South Africa and one confirmed case of the variant first detected in Brazil. There are also over 1,000 confirmed cases of a variant first detected in California.

“Unfortunately, if we can’t get more vaccine supply and if we can’t get continued adherence to behavior change like masks, we do anticipate that we’ll have another surge,” said Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s public health officer, in a news briefing on Thursday.

The county’s daily case rate is hovering around 100 new cases per day, but like the rest of the Bay Area, case rates have flattened since a precipitous decline from last winter’s surge, and there is “some indication” that cases may continue to tick up, according to Cody.

“We might have gotten as low as we’re going to go,” Cody said. “We’re back in a bit of a precarious place as far as our collective ability to curb this pandemic.”

Cody called the current situation a race between vaccinations and a worrying rise in the number of variants detected. Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s testing and vaccine officer, said the county remains at the mercy of vaccine supply from the state, which has not been enough to meet the demand. Next week, the county is expected to receive 71,900 doses of vaccine — most of which are the Johnson & Johnson single-dose shot — an increase from the 58,000 doses it received this week.

“We’re happy to see that we got more vaccine,” Fenstersheib said. “However, it’s still not enough. We’re doing about one-third of our capacity in this county.”

But even as vaccines are lacking, eligibility is increasing. Residents age 50 and older can get vaccinated beginning Thursday and on April 15, eligibility will expand to anyone age 16 and older.

Santa Clara County is currently in the orange tier in the state’s COVID-19 blueprint, allowing for increased capacity for certain activities like indoor dining. However, Cody urged residents to use caution.

“We need people to just hold on for a little bit longer,” Cody said. “Keep wearing your mask, delay your travel, don’t indoor dine, don’t go to indoor bars, don’t host an indoor gathering at your home. Even if it’s allowed under the state rules, don’t do it. It’s not safe. Not yet.”

Cody said it was “too soon to tell” whether she would move to implement restrictions if there is another surge.

“As a pandemic wears on, it becomes more and more difficult to do something locally that is more restrictive than surrounding counties and the state,” Cody said.

But, she added: “However, my job, whether I like it or not, is to do what I think will best protect the health of people living in our county.”

For more news and information about the vaccine rollout in California, visit Patch's information hub. Also, be sure to check out How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In California.