Imperial County COVID-19 update after mask mandate

Cases continue to crawl up amidst mask mandate - News 11's Wiley Jawhary reports

IMPERIAL, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The Imperial County Public Health Department (ICPHD) says COVID cases continue to rise, with the Delta variant expected to be the most prominent by next week.

The latest numbers show the Gamma variant at 128 and the Delta variant at 114.

Imperial County is still under a mask mandate that took effect last week due to this increase in COVID cases.
Now there's new hope after the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent full approval of the Pfizer vaccine. 

Health Officer Dr. Stephen Munday with ICPHD says that this may increase that vaccination rate.

“That’s really good news, it’s important to understand that no shortcuts have been made to reach this point because many waited for it to get approved," he said.

Dr. Tien Vo with Vo Medical Group says he is seeing the increase firsthand. He says that a student stopped by for a COVID-19 test after school and that student tested positive.

“The Kid came like an hour ago, one kid, still in uniform, tested and came back positive, and the mom is negative so probably he got it from school,” he said.

And many are starting to wonder how long the renewed mask mandate will last.

“Next summer, I think winter for sure, but most likely by spring,” Dr. Vo said.

Currently, there are 222 new cases of COVID in Imperial County. Officials say that hospitals are not overwhelmed at this time.