California Has Lowest COVID-19 Positivity Rate in the Nation: Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the state has the lowest COVID-19 positivity rate in the country.

University of California, San Francisco Dr. George Rutherford said vaccination efforts are helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19. While it’s a positive trend, he said it’s not time to celebrate.

“What happened yesterday with Easter and family gatherings, are we going to see a bump like we did at Thanksgiving last year or is it going to be more like a minor bump like we saw at New Years?” he said.

There are also variants to consider. The variant driving a surge in a part of India contains two mutations of the virus. Stanford researchers just detected the double mutant in the Bay Area.

“The vaccines may be slightly less effective at preventing moderate disease or moderate illness with this particular variant, but the vaccines are still very effective and folks should get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Dr. Benjamin Pinsky said.

As California is slowing the spread, 31 states are seeing cases rise. Variants are spreading fast in parts of Massachusetts and Ohio.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is also seeing COVID-19 clusters linked to youth sports.

The CDC is urging people to continue to avoid crowds and wear masks.

“We’re a ways away still,” Rutherford said. “I think for the next couple months, we’re going to have this kind of awkward situation where some people are vaccinated but not enough people vaccinated to guarantee herd immunity.”

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