The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously ended the County’s state of emergency due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, aligning with California, which took the same action.
The vote ends the emergency phase of the pandemic but not the continued effort to combat COVID-19, according to the County.
“The County will continue to work closely with community- and faith-based organizations to educate residents about residual risks, vaccination recommendations and programs to buffer economic impacts,” said Dave Pine, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
The County activated its Emergency Operations Center on March 2, 2020, and declared emergencies in ensuing days. The declarations enabled the County to issue public health orders, build capacity in the healthcare system and shift focus to providing free vaccines, treatments and tests. The County additionally directed local funds and federal relief packages to the public health crisis, including to mitigate economic impacts.
“This global event was rough on everyone, and while we didn’t come out of it unscathed, we did better than many other communities,” said Dr. Scott Morrow, the County health officer. “This is thanks to you, the community, for your insightful, wise, and ‘caring for your neighbor’ cooperation. And while this is not yet over, hopefully this will be a once in many generations event.”
Improtant information moving forward, per the County:
Testing
County Health will continue to schedule local vaccination clinics for faith-based organizations and schools through March.
At-home tests available at many stores and pharmacies are free or reimbursable for most people.
The federal government offers free at-home test kits to U.S. households.
For more information about when to get tested, visit the California COVID-19 website.
Treatment
“Medications to treat COVID-19 are free, widely available, and effective for stopping COVID-19 illness from getting serious,” according to the state.
The state provides information on:
If you don’t have insurance or the options above don’t work: Call 833-686-5051 to make a free phone or video appointment through California’s COVID-19 telehealth service.
By the Numbers
As of Feb. 15, 2023, more than 730,000 County residents, or 94 percent of the population, have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Since the pandemic began, 749 people have died from COVID-19 in San Mateo County, according to state data.
Moving forward, County Health is retiring several COVID-19-related dashboards mainly focusing on case and testing data. The state provides case and test positivity data from San Mateo County, which will continue to inform residents about local trends in the progression of COVID-19.
