It’s not what local tourism officials want to hear with San Diego’s summer tourist season in full swing and it may not make much of a difference anyway.
It was the message this week from a doctor with the California Department of Public Health. Dr Erica Pan saying she recommends that “everybody should wear masks indoors in closed settings, especially when there’s poor ventilation while transmission levels are high.”
The number of positive tests for COVID are up in California thanks to the latest variants that are described as more contagious, even for some who have been fully vaccinated and boosted.
San Diego County health officials, as you have been hearing today, are seeing significant recent spikes in COVID-19 hospitalizations and new cases, prompting officials to call for more vigilance…even with nearly 85 percent of people in the county fully vaccinated and nearly 60 percent boosted.
The good news is that Dr. Pan says while more contagious, the newest strains are not more severe thanks to the treatments for COVID now and the vaccines helping to prevent serious disease.
So no one is expecting to see everyone start masking up again with polls showing that a lot of people have said they’re moving on and say that the pandemic is pretty much behind us and want to get back to normal. While some will throw caution to the wind, others will be more careful about being indoors with lots of people and mask up at times even as they enjoy summer activities.
Either way for San Diego the tourism business is going to be a lot better than it was the last couple of summers.
(Photo Getty Images)
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