California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that there’s no plan to introduce new restrictions or a lockdown after the first U.S. case of the omicron COVID-19 variant was identified on Wednesday in San Francisco.
“There’s more panic than information around this variant,” Newsom said at a press conference following the announcement of the case. “Doubling down on what we’re doing is the most important message. We can avoid shutting down our schools or businesses. None of us want to see that happen. I don’t want to see that happen. And I see no indication at this moment whatsoever that that’s in our immediate future.”
Newsom encouraged residents to get vaccines and boosters to prevent new restrictions.
The sentiment was echoed in San Francisco at a Wednesday press conference with city officials.
“At this time we do not anticipate changing any of our health orders or changing any current restrictions or imposing new restrictions on activities in San Francisco,” Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of health, said. “We’re obviously following these developments very closely. We’ll share additional information as we have it.”
Eight Bay Area counties introduced an indoor mask mandate in August in response to the surge in cases related to the Delta variant. Since then, Marin is the only county that has met the Bay Area-wide criteria for easing mask mandates and lifted the order on Nov. 1.
With the arrival of the omicron variant, some have wondered if Marin would reintroduce the mask mandate. Cases in Marin remain low and the county’s health director Dr. Matt Willis said Wednesday there are no plans at this time to reinstate it.
“We’re confident in our monitoring systems and we’re watching closely,” Willis said. “We have several policy levers still available to us if needed, including a mask mandate and proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and bars. The most important trigger for any more restrictive policies will be increases in serious illness and hospitalizations. Our case rates and hospitalization rates have been stable through November.”
State and federal officials announced Wednesday the first case of the omicron variant in the United States was identified in a San Francisco resident who had returned from South Africa on Nov. 22.
The individual developed mild symptoms on Nov. 25 and was showing improvement, Newsom said.
The person had received a full dose of Moderna (two shots) but hadn’t received a booster shot. The individual is self-quarantining.
“This is not a surprise,” Colfax said. “We knew omicron was going to be here. We thought it was already here and we just had not identified it yet. So this is a cause for concern, but it is also certainly not a cause for panic. We are prepared for this in the city.”