Local health emergency proclamations put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic will soon come to an end in Yolo County.

Following a recommendation from Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson, the county will end the local health emergency proclamations this upcoming Tuesday, Feb. 28. Sisson announced the upcoming plan for termination during the Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this week.

“As local health officer, I retain the authority to control the spread of communicable disease in Yolo County without emergency declaration,” Sisson said. “However, should your board end the local health emergencies for COVID-19, I do intend to rescind the remaining isolation order for COVID-19, falling back upon the state’s recommendation for isolation of infected persons.

“This action symbolizes the transition from an emergency response to beginning to treat COVID-19 like other common infectious diseases.”

The motion was passed unanimously. The recommendation was made in correspondence with the end of California’s state of emergency. The federal emergency proclamation is scheduled to end on May 11, 2023.

According to Sisson, Yolo County’s COVID-19 case rate is “relatively low and stable” compared to the entire state. In January 2023, Yolo County had 5.4 daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, compared to California’s average of 7.2 cases per 100,000.

“We’ve experienced the pandemic thus far in a series of case waves,” Sisson explained. “The worst of which was the original omicron wave in January of 2022, where the case rate reached 253 cases per 100,000 per day.”

Sisson clarified that the case rate only displays PCR-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

“In the current era where antigen tests dominate, the case rate significantly underestimates the actual burden of disease in the community,” Sisson said. “This is where wastewater monitoring is particularly useful.”

Wastewater monitoring began in Davis in late 2020 at the Davis Wastewater Treatment Plant and has expanded to five monitoring sites in Yolo County, according to Sisson. Woodland monitors its wastewater at the Woodland Water Pollution Control Facility.“Four of the five monitoring locations show relatively low and stable levels,” Sisson explained. “However, wastewater levels are currently moderate and rising in the city of Davis.”

Sisson said a new COVID-19 variant may cause the difference in Davis.

“The rising wastewater levels in Davis may be due to the growth of the XBB.1.5 variant. This highly-infectious omicron variant is now dominant in California, representing 70% of new COVID-19 cases,” Sisson said. “While XBB.1.5 dominates the current landscape, the small case wave it is causing pales in comparison to those caused by previous variants, especially delta, the original omicron BA.1 and the more recent BA.2 and BA.5 omicron waves.”

According to Sisson, Yolo County currently has three patients hospitalized with COVID-19, which is a steep drop from the peak of the last two winters. In January 2021, 33 Yolo County residents were hospitalized with the disease. One year later, in January 2022, the rate steadily dropped to 27 hospitalizations.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 439 Yolo County residents have died from complications related to COVID-19. Nearly three years later, in February 2023, the death rate has dropped dramatically according to Sisson.

“Fortunately, the COVID-19 death rate is decreasing across California, including in Yolo County,” Sisson explained. “Statewide, the rate of deaths due to COVID-19 has fallen below the death rate during both an average flu season, as well as a bad flu season like 2017-18.”

Sisson said a significant contributor to the death rate dropping is vaccination rates. At 74%, Yolo County is slightly below the state average of 75% of all ages completing the primary series of vaccinations. However, among seniors 65 and older, Yolo County is above the state average, with 95% vaccinated compared to California’s 93% average.

“A major contributor to the decrease in COVID-19 death rate is vaccination against COVID-19,” Sisson said. “Vaccination and boosters reduce the likelihood of severe disease, hospitalization and death. Yolo County’s vaccination rates exceed the California averages in three of the four measures.”

Regarding boosters, Yolo County exceeds the state average for all ages and seniors over 65. Twenty-five percent of Yolo County residents have received a bivalent booster compared to California’s average of 19%. More than half of the seniors in Yolo County have received a booster (61%) while less than half (46%) in the entire state have been boosted.

“As we consider ending the local COVID-19 emergency declaration, it’s helpful to reflect upon how far we’ve come since the COVID emergencies were declared at the local, state and federal levels in March 2020,” Sisson said. “In March 2020, the world was turned upside down by a novel coronavirus that we knew nothing about, for which the only testing available was through the CDC and took days to get results. For which there was no vaccine nor any specific treatment, and we didn’t have enough gowns, masks, gloves or goggles to protect health care workers, let alone maks for the general public.

“Contrast those dark early days of the pandemic with today’s COVID-19 reality. We are in a very different place than we were in March of 2020. In one where it is appropriate to consider ending the COVID-19 emergency.”

Testing, vaccination, personal protective equipment and treatment is now widely available in February 2023. The only thing that remains moderate is the general public’s knowledge of COVID-19, according to Sisson.

“When the federal emergency ends, universal coverage of testing, vaccination and treatment will end. The U.S. will return to our broken system of coverage based on insurance status,” Sisson proclaimed. “It’s important to note that ending the local emergencies does not mean that COVID-19 has gone away or that the COVID-19 response has ended. Indeed, COVID-19 is still here and Yolo County public health continues to address the virus. However, our response is evolving.”

Sisson explained that Yolo County will continue to stock its five outdoor vending machines with free antigen tests and free vaccinations will continue at county-run clinics. Although, that will come to an end when the Yolo County Health Department stops receiving free tests and vaccines from the federal government.