Medical assistant Monica Magana draws the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe at Ravenswood Family Health Center in East Palo Alto on Jan. 30, 2021. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

COVID-19 transmission remains high in San Mateo County, one of the county's top health officials said this week, as the ongoing surge continues to last longer than most previous surges.

According to San Mateo County Health Chief Louise Rogers, the county's census of COVID-related hospitalizations has hovered between 30 and 60 over most of the last three months and was at at 58 as of Monday, Aug. 1.

That figure is lower than the peak of 160 hospitalized patients the county reached during the winter surge of the omicron variant, but is comparable to the peak of last fall's delta variant surge.

Like much of the Bay Area and the state in general, San Mateo County remains in the "high transmission" tier, as outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We continue to strongly recommend wearing a high-quality mask in indoor settings and increasing ventilation -- such as by opening windows and doors where possible -- to help prevent infection," Rogers said in a message to county residents. "We urge residents to test if symptomatic and to be in contact with their physician."

Excerpt from:

Health officials: San Mateo County's current COVID-19 surge is lasting longer than most, with transmission still high - The Almanac Online