Supervisor Fletcher 'Not Optimistic' County Will Enter Yellow Tier Before June 15

San Diego CA

06 May, 2021

10:00 PM

Description

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego May 6, 2021 Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said Thursday he is "not optimistic" that San Diego County will graduate into the least-restrictive yellow tier before June 15, the date Gov. Gavin Newsom has set to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Fletcher's comments came as county public health officials reported 226 new COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths, and a positivity rate of just 1.4%. San Diego County is in the orange-tier due to an adjusted daily case rate of 5 per 100,000 people. That is a significant improvement over the week before, when the rate was over 6, but it remains well above the fewer-than-two needed to move into the yellow tier. Los Angeles and San Francisco counties transitioned into the yellow tier on Tuesday. To advance, San Diego County would have to report statistics in the yellow tier for two consecutive weeks. Due to the delayed nature of the pandemic and how data is reported, that is unlikely before restrictions end throughout the state. Fletcher spoke at a weekly media briefing on the pandemic, at which officials reported that 1,194,000 residents aged 16 or older are now fully vaccinated. That nearly 60% of the county's vaccination goal. Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer, said is encouraged that nearly a third of residents aged 16 to 19 have been vaccinated. Rotating pop-up vaccination clinics will begin this week at high- traffic areas such as community centers, churches and colleges. A full list of county-run vaccination sites can be found online. City News Service contributed to this article. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.