US - West Coast

COVID is rising in California. Here's how to protect yourself from FLiRT subvariants It's too early to know if FLiRT will be a major change in the COVID picture; so far impacts have been small. But officials are urging Californians to be prepared. Rong-Gong Lin II LA Times

...

Teen vaccination cut COVID-19 cases by 37% in California, new data show Researchers also estimated that 230,134 cases were averted in kids aged 5 to 11 years, a 24% reduction. CIDRAP

JAMA Network Open has published a new study showing that, from April 1, 2020, to February 27, 2023, in California, an estimated 146,210 COVID-19 cases were averted by vaccination in teens aged 12 to 15 years, representing a 37% reduction.

..

In a milestone, California says those with COVID-19 can leave home sooner — but there's a catch California now says people with COVID can leave home earlier than before, if their symptoms are mild and improving. But they need to mask up, or risk infecting others. Yahoo News

California's relaxed COVID isolation guidance marks a milestone in public health messaging about the pandemic: Even newly infected people no longer need to isolate if they have no symptoms, or they can leave home sooner if the illness starts improving quickly. ...

Oakland schools allow COVID-positive students to attend class (KRON) — Thousands of students in the Oakland Unified School District are returning to their classrooms after winter break with less COVID-19 rules imposed by the district. OUSD announced new… KRON4

...

COVID-positive students no longer have to stay home, as long as they do not have any symptoms, according to district officials. Asymptomatic, COVID-positive students should wear a mask at school while indoors, the response team added.