Restrictions Ease For Vaccinated People: CDC, RivCo Update

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Monday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, which signal "a first step toward returning to everyday activities."

Among the CDC recommendations is how and when a fully vaccinated person can visit with other people who are fully vaccinated and with other people who are not vaccinated.

Among the guidelines are:

• Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart.
• Visit with unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart if everyone in the other household is at low risk for severe disease.
• Refrain from quarantine and testing if they do not have symptoms of COVID-19 after contact with someone who has COVID-19.

CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people continue to take these COVID-19 precautions when in public, when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple other households, and when around unvaccinated people who are at high risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19:

• Wear a well-fitted mask.
• Stay at least 6 feet from people you do not live with.
• Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings.
• Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
• Follow guidance issued by individual employers.
• Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations.

"There are some activities that fully vaccinated people can begin to resume now in their own homes," said CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH. "Everyone — even those who are vaccinated — should continue with all mitigation strategies when in public settings."

Neither the state nor county had released comment on the CDC guidelines as of early Monday afternoon.

A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine, according to the CDC. Although vaccinations are accelerating, CDC estimates that just 9.2 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine that the FDA has authorized for emergency use.

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that over 56 percent of California’s 65 and older population have received at least one vaccine dose.

CDC has released resources to help people make informed decisions when they are fully vaccinated.

The CDC guidelines come as COVID-positive hospitalizations in Riverside County continue to fall.

According to the Riverside University Health System, coronavirus hospitalizations numbered 251 as of Monday, down from 28 Friday, and that includes 64 ICU patients — two fewer than Friday.

The RUHS does not release weekend figures.

On Monday, RUHS data showed the total number of COVID-19 cases recorded since the public health documentation period began in March 2020 was 291,040 Monday, up 136 from Friday.

The county logged an additional 20 deaths since Friday, bringing the number of COVID-19 fatalities to 3,912.

On Tuesday, the state is expected to update key metrics that may move the county closer to progressing out of the "purple tier" and into the less restrictive "red tier."

The purple or "widespread" status — per the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy — has prevented some county businesses and schools from reopening.

The only metric currently holding Riverside County back from moving into the state's "red tier" status under the Blueprint is the county's adjusted case rate, which must fall below 7.1 daily cases per 100,000 residents in order to progress. On Tuesday, the county's rate was at 11.3 cases per 100,000 residents.