Health officers: Bay Area has California's highest COVID-19 infection rate, masks again urged.
, along with Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties and the City of Berkeley, urged people to mask up indoors, keep tests handy and ensure they are up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations.
"The grim milestone of 1 million deaths from COVID in the United States underscores the need for continued vigilance against the virus," health officials said. As of Friday, officials said the Bay Area has the highest infection rate in California, with increases in reported cases, levels of virus in wastewater and hospitalizations. With home tests widely available, actual case rates are higher."With COVID-19 cases going up in San Francisco, people are at an elevated risk of contracting COVID-19 right now and we are urging people to take personal protections against the virus," said San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip.
In San Francisco, officials with the city's Department of Public Health said hospitalizations are increasing but remained relatively low compared to previous surges. The city's vaccination rate is at 84%. Meanwhile in Alameda County, health officials there said daily reported cases have reached levels seen during the Delta variant wave last year, but cases remained far below the Omicron surge over the winter and hospitalizations have shown"modest increases" so far.