RivCo Told State It Wanted To Align With CDC On Face Masks

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County told the state it wanted to align with updated federal guidance on face masks, but that wasn't enough to sway California officials.

On Tuesday morning, Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung told the Board of Supervisors that the state sent a survey to all California counties asking whether they wanted to adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated face mask guidelines.

"We did say that we would like to align with the CDC," Leung confirmed.

Last week the federal agency released updated guidelines that allow people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to go maskless in most settings, including indoors with other non-vaccinated people. On Monday, however, California health officials announced the state will wait until June 15 before aligning with the CDC's recommendations. The state's guidelines continue to require face masks in public indoor settings.

Patch reached out to the California Department of Public Health requesting the survey results. State officials said Tuesday morning they were working on providing the information.

Board Chair Karen Spiegel (Second District) called the state's decision to hold off on updated face mask guidelines "a little frustrating for all of us."

Spiegel, who said she is fully vaccinated, is one of three board members who don a face-covering during board meetings.

"I lead by example," said Spiegel, who also announced last summer that she contracted COVID-19 and recovered.

Supervisors Chuck Washington (Third District) and V. Manuel Perez (Fourth District) have masked up during Board meetings, while Board Vice-Chair Jeff Hewitt (Fifth District) and Supervisor Kevin Jeffries (First District) have consistently flouted the state's recommendations on face coverings.

Vaccination rates in Riverside County

On Tuesday, Hewitt questioned whether the expanded emergency use authorization of the Pfizer vaccine in kids 12-15 that was announced earlier this month was being highly utilized in Riverside County.

Leung called the latest vaccination figures among county adolescents "encouraging."

Riverside County Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari told the Board of Supervisors that kids 12 and older who are fully vaccinated against the virus stood at 36.4 percent countywide as of Tuesday morning. County residents 18 and older who are fully vaccinated was 39.8 percent, while fully vaccinated people who are 65 and older was at 61 percent, Saruwatari said.

Saruwatari told the Board that both of her children in the 12-15 age group were receiving their vaccines this week.

Riverside County COVID-19 stats

Each Tuesday, the CDPH updates COVID-19 positivity and case rates by county as part of its Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The framework determines what "color tier" each county is in.

On Tuesday, Riverside County's COVID-19 case rate edged up slightly over the previous week, while its positivity rate remained flat.

Last week's coronavirus positivity rate was reported at 1.6 percent, the same as this week, while the state-adjusted case rate was reported Tuesday at 2.8 new cases per 100,000 county residents. Last week's case rate was 2.7 new cases per 100,000 residents.

On Tuesday, Orange County moved to the yellow tier. It joins Los Angeles County as the only two Southern California yellow-tier counties.

On June 15, the Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework is expected to be shelved if California continues to show improvement, Gov. Gavin Newsom previously announced.

The CDC reported that California has the lowest positivity and case rates of any state in the nation, per its most recent May 18 update.