Redwood City – The County of San Mateo continues to work to protect public health and safety in response to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.
The County of San Mateo’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remains open to coordinate countywide response and communications in response to the situation. The EOC’s Joint Information Center will provide status reports every Thursday until further notice. Today’s report:
Vaccine Update: Contact Your Health Care Provider First
San Mateo County Health continues to vaccinate Phase 1A health care workers who have pre-registered. At this time, there are no available appointments at the Event Center vaccination clinics. Qualifying Phase 1A health care workers should contact their primary care provider about receiving the vaccine.
While state officials recently gave the approval for counties to begin entering Phase 1B for adults 65 years and older, in San Mateo County we have not yet moved to that phase. We are continuing to prioritize reaching as many members of Phase 1A as possible, as we wait for additional doses of the vaccine to arrive. Watch a video about our current vaccination efforts: youtu.be/YSRPyYoG5Tg.
Most San Mateo County residents will receive the vaccine from their primary care provider.
Contact your health care provider for the most accurate and up to date information about when and how you can expect to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The California vaccine distribution website link covid19.ca.gov/vaccines has information about the phases of the roll out.
County Health’s website at smchealth.org/covidvaccine has the most up to date information on the vaccine process.
COVID-19 Vaccination Livestream: What You Need to Know
County Health presented a live event online Jan. 13 about the vaccine roll out, equitable distribution, and how older adults can access the vaccine when supplies are available. Watch it here: youtu.be/SV-OCBJ7Su4
COVID-19 Business Violation Complaint Counts
As of Jan. 13, 2021, the County’s COVID-19 Business Engagement & Compliance Program has received 1,128 complaints of which 72 percent were abated, meaning the violation was not found or was corrected on the spot.
The team has issued 114 written warnings and 24 administrative citations to repeat violators. The businesses receiving the most complaints are restaurants/fast food, retail shopping, gym/fitness centers and hair salons/barber shops.
The most common complaints are businesses operating indoors, having a high occupancy, a lack of social distancing and non-wearing of masks by employees and/or customers. The team has visited a total of 372 businesses, and the top three locations for businesses receiving complaints are San Mateo, Redwood City and South San Francisco.
Residents can report alleged business violations and businesses can appeal at https://cmo.smcgov.org/health-order-violation-reporting-appeals-businesses.
Bay Area Remains Under Regional Stay at Home Order
The greater Bay Area including San Mateo County remains under the state’s Regional Stay At Home Order, requiring most residents to stay home except for essential needs with limited exceptions.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 12, the region’s ICU capacity hovered at 4.7 percent, less than half the 15 percent capacity needed for the state to consider lifting the Regional Stay At Home Order in place since mid-December.
San Mateo County also remains in purple Tier 1 of the state’s color-coded, four-tier system for easing restrictions on businesses and activities. The coronavirus is considered “widespread” in purple Tier 1, the most restrictive of the four tiers.
See our Frequently Asked Questions for further information on what’s open and what’s not under the Regional Stay At Home Order.
SMC Public WiFi Expands Free, Fast Internet Service
The County is bringing free high-speed wireless internet access to areas of the North Fair Oaks and Stambaugh Heller neighborhoods of Redwood City.
The newly expanded SMC Public WiFi network consists of nearly 100 WiFi access points mounted on streetlight poles. Find an interactive map of all SMC Public WiFi locations here.
This expansion is part of the San Mateo County Digital Inclusion Initiative and was funded by part of a $6.3 million grant from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Learn more.
FDA Warns About 'False Negatives' With Curative COVID-19 Tests
The County of San Mateo is aware of a recently issued FDA safety communication informing of the risk that Curative’s self-administered oral swab COVID-19 testing kits may return false negative results for asymptomatic individuals.
The County is monitoring the situation and engaging with Curative as it works to resolve the FDA’s concerns. Please take the FDA’s communication into consideration when choosing the appropriate testing vendor for you and your family.
To learn more, visit our COVID-19 testing page.
San Mateo County COVID-19 Case Count
As of Jan. 13, San Mateo County Health has recorded 30,196 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 268 deaths since the pandemic began.
County Health provides detailed information on cases by age group and date and deaths by age group. Learn more at https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus
Call Center
Residents with non-medical, non-emergency questions about the coronavirus can call 211 or 800-273-6222 at any time, day or night. Callers from landlines and cellular telephones located within San Mateo County are connected with a trained service professional from 211, a confidential service available in 180 languages.