Increasing numbers of Delta variant COVID-19 cases and
hospitalizations prompted Governor Newsom to announce on Monday,
July 26 that all
state employees and health care workers must verify their
vaccination status or submit to required testing and wearing
higher filtration masks. This order takes effect
on Monday, August 9 at 12:01 a.m. The order also
applies to local high-risk facilities like jails and homeless
shelters. In response to new CDC guidelines, the California
Department of Public Health issued new
guidance on Wednesday, July 28
recommending universal masking in indoor public settings,
regardless of vaccination status.
“We need to step things up because our projections are sobering,”
said Governor Newsom at a press conference in Alameda County this
morning. “We’re projecting a significant increase in
hospitalizations…and our only way out is through vaccination.”
According to the Governor, 74.8 percent of all eligible
Californians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19
vaccine, and administered first doses rose by 16 percent last
week alone. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr.
Mark Ghaly implored the unvaccinated and those who have received
a single dose of a two-dose regimen to step up now in the face of
the mutating virus.
“The Delta variant has changed the game. This is not the COVID
that we dealt with a year ago,” said Secretary Ghaly. “In the
face of Delta, that second shot is very important, and it’s a
small price to pay to be protected against a more contagious,
more sticky, more spreadable variant. Getting our state
vaccinated is the way through.”
State workers have until Monday, August 2 to prove vaccination
status, while health care workers and high-risk congregate
facilities such as prisons, jails, and homeless shelters must
comply by Monday, August 23. View the State Public Health Order,
which lists affected facilities and verification and testing
protocols,
here. California offers an online tool to download your
digital COVID-19 vaccine record here. The digital
download, as well as the paper vaccine cards, can be used to
verify vaccine status.
Nearly 3,000 Californians are hospitalized with the virus this
week, up from less than 1,000 six weeks ago. At the winter peak,
more than 20,000 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19
statewide.
The Governor also called on local governments and businesses to
follow suit and require vaccine verification and increased
testing and masking protocols for employees. Many counties have
reinstituted mask recommendations for indoor settings, and a
handful already require vaccine verification for all county
employees.
