San Mateo County finally joined its neighbors on the state’s coronavirus watch list Wednesday morning, meaning that the entire region is now under state watch.
The county was the lone Bay Area holdout after San Francisco was added nearly two weeks ago, followed by Santa Cruz on Sunday. For days — as residents of other counties watched — residents could work out inside a gym or get an indoor haircut in San Mateo County, even as they were banned from doing so in all other Bay Area counties..
Now that’s poised to change. If the county remains on the list for three consecutive days, a slew of locations must shut down unless they can perform their work outside — including gyms and fitness centers, places of worship, non-critical offices, nail and hair salons and shopping malls.
Still, the addition did not come as a surprise. County officials had been in ongoing conversations with the state over its increasing cases, a spokesperson said Wednesday. On July 17, Health Chief Louise F. Rogers acknowledged that the 14-day rolling average had already topped the state’s benchmark of 100 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents, which “will likely put us on the list soon.”
The county has added 998 new cases in the last 14 days, according to state data, and now counts an average of 128 cases per 100,000 residents.
Local officials had previously expressed dismay that the move could close down businesses that had just recently been allowed to reopen.
“We have plenty of hospital beds and are ready for a surge. I don’t want to take a step back, but we must all be prepared. This will require an extraordinary effort at every level of government to ensure these businesses do not fail,” said Supervisor David Canepa.
Check back for updates.
