masks

COUNTY LIFTS MASK REQUIREMENT IN MOST OUTDOOR SETTINGS FOR FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE

Source: County New Service

Photo: cc via Bing

April 30, 2021 (San Diego) -- Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outdoors in public unless they’re in crowded places. This is one of many activities the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now considers safer for people who are fully immunized.

Masks are still necessary in crowded outdoor events, such as concerts or sporting events, as well as for indoor activities, whether you’re vaccinated or not.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

EARTHTALK®: ARE WE BURYING OURSELVES IN PPE WASTE?THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON OUR WASTE STREAM COULD LAST DECADES

By Louise Willis

November 9, 2020 (San Diego's East County) - Dear EarthTalk: What’s the environmental impact of all the single-use PPE we are throwing away now in huge numbers as a result of responding to the COVID-19 crisis? —Jay M., Cary, NC


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

6 IN 10 ADULT SAN DIEGANS FACE SEVERE IMPACTS IF THEY CONTRACT COVID-19

That’s because about 57% of San Diego County adults have pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart and lung disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity.

San Diegans with underlying chronic conditions are at increased risks of serious outcomes if they contract COVID-19, requiring to be hospitalized, placed in intensive care or worse, dying.

To date, 95% of San Diegans who died from COVID-19 had underlying medical condition(s).

“COVID-19 deaths can be prevented,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “It’s important to remember that our actions matter. We must all do all we can to prevent from contracting and spreading the virus.”

It’s true that younger San Diegans with COVID-19 typically don’t need to be hospitalized. That is not the case for older adults. Of the 2,459 people who were hospitalized due to COVID-19, about 52% were 60 years of age or older.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

FACE COVERINGS, PHYSICAL DISTANCE NEEDED TO PREVENT SURGE OF COVID-19, SAY COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO HEALTH OFFICIALS

Research has shown that when face coverings are used properly, they reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus. Maintaining physical distance from other people does too.

The latest is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of sailors at the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt which showed that sailors who used a face covering and practiced social distancing had a lower infection rate.

“We now have more scientific evidence that face coverings prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “When people are in public the risk of exposure is higher so they should wear a face covering, especially when they’re within six feet from others.”


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

SANTEE BUSINESSES, INCLUDING AL’S SPORTS SHOP, BEGIN TO REOPEN

By Mike Allen
 
Photo: Al's Sports Shop, Santee
 
May 6, 2020 (Santee) -- It’ll be a lot different, but Rob Treadwell, the owner of Al’s Sports Shop in Santee, says things will work out.
 
“We’ve been here 40 years and I believe we’ll make it,” said Treadwell, interviewed a few days before his store partially reopens. 
 
County rules adopted earlier this week following a statewide easing of restriction require that qualifying businesses follow similar rules that restaurants have been operating under since March 19, when California enacted a shelter-in-place quarantine in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

IRAQI REFUGEE IN EL CAJON NOW SAVES LIVES MAKING MASKS FOR MEDICAL WORKERS, ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND NAVAJO NATION

By Miriam Raftery
May 4, 2020 (El Cajon) –“Helping other people was the only way that I survived through different risks and wars I went through,” says Kilian Colin, an Iraqi refugee in El Cajon who says he went through lockdowns in Iraq and Syria.  A long-time civil rights and labor activist, he has now started a mask-making campaign that is protecting thousands of the most vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
His masks have been sent to protect healthcare workers in San Diego and in cities across the nation including had-hit New York City, as well as to farmers in the Midwest, farmworkers in Oregon, asylum seekers in Mexico, and tribal members of the Navajo Nation in Arizona.
 
How the effort began
 
“I was visiting Asia in January when the pandemic started,” says Colin, who began wearing masks in Vietnam and Taiwan.  Back home as a student at San Diego State University, he kept wearing a mask to avoid infecting others.  
 
But he recalls, “Both professors and students at SDSU were making fun of me…I had no option but to face some of those bullies and told them I was protecting them by wearing this mask, since I had no idea if I carried the virus with me home.” 
 
In mid-March, SDSU moved classes online. Without spending an hour daily commuting, Colin decided to make several masks instead and offer them online to whoever needed them, also replacing his own surgical masks that had been washed too many times to be protective.
 
“I looked online for patterns to make masks and I looked in my closet for clothes that I no longer use,” he tells East County Magazine in an exclusive interview. 

Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL NOW URGES ALL AMERICANS TO WEAR FACE MASKS IN PUBLIC PLACES

By Miriam Raftery
 
April 4, 2020 (Washington D.C.) --  On Friday, the White House Coronavirus Task Force and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidance around the wearing of face coverings, such as cloth masks, in community settings. 
 

Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS

By Paula Dickenson, Crime Prevention specialist, San Diego Sheriff, Alpine

October 20, 2012 (San Diego) -- Halloween is an exciting, fun-filled time for young people.  Unfortunately, it can also result in tragedy. The following safety tips are offered for parents, children, and drivers, which will help make Halloween a safe event for all.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.