Increase in COVID cases expected after Memorial Day holiday weekend
SAN FRANCISCO -- Health officials warned the Bay Area and across California will likely see a bump in the already higher COVID cases because of holiday weekend gatherings.
The latest surge prompted some people to dust off their masks. But San Francisco resident Jacqueline Tang, she never put her mask away.
"It's finding that balance and really thinking about the community you're in, right? There are a lot of children and elderly people who can't get vaccinated," said Tang.
She said she never stopped wearing a mask when shopping or going indoors.
"I had my double vaccinations, boosted. I'll take tests if I travel at all," said Tang.
State health officials said the COVID omicron subvariants have sparked a recent rise in cases and reported positivity rates are up across the San Francisco Bay Area.
As of Saturday, California's health department reported Contra Costa County leading the way at 12.3 percent. Marin and Solano Counties both were at 10.9%. San Francisco recorded 10.8 percent. Sonoma County was at 10%, Napa County had 9.9%, San Mateo County had 9.5%, Santa Clara County was at 9.1%, and Alameda County had the lowest at 8.9% positivity rate over the most recent seven-day period.
"We will definitely see an increase in cases after this weekend, just because there's so much virus around. But I don't expect hospitalizations to really go up that much because our rates of vaccination, and particularly boosting, are really high in the Bay Area," said UCSF infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong .
AAA predicted roughly 39 million people were traveling on this Memorial Day weekend. Aside from holiday gatherings, there'll be more graduation parties and weddings in the coming weeks.
Dr. Chin-Hong said it would be best to wear a mask or use a rapid test before attending an indoor event.
"You have to assume that in a risky indoor setting, that one in 20 people are probably going to have it, even if they have no cough or any symptoms," said Dr. Chin-Hong.
That was why at Growing Up Art and Crafts store in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood, the owner still had a sign out front that maintained a capacity limit of six people in the store and recommended customers to wear a mask.
"I chose to still have people wear masks and I got a letter from someone who was upset about it," said store owner Jude Friedman.
As for Tang, she won't let the latest surge stop her from living life. She said she'll take careful steps as she attends an indoor convention next week.
"I'm road tripping down to L.A. instead of flying, cause it just feels a little safer to be in my own space as I take that trip down," said Tang.
