Sacramento County COVID-19 Digest

With the Delta variant continuing to rage throughout the capital region, testing sites are extending their hours while the county also works to expand testing locations by partnering with local churches and schools.

A Black neurosurgeon and other medical professionals are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to vaccinating Sacramento’s underserved population.

Sacramento County supervisors are voting on whether to extend Project Roomkey, a program that has sheltered the elderly and medically vulnerable homeless with free motel rooms during the pandemic.

A recent survey shows that 73 percent of Sacramento employers want their employees back in the office full time. But will it happen?

El Pollo Loco in Citrus Heights was the happy recipient of the Chamber of Commerce's first COVID-relief check. Like many businesses, this El Pollo Loco franchise has struggled through pandemic restrictions.

The Sacramento City Council has announced that it is requiring vaccines for all employees “under its purview,” with a mandate for all city employees expected to follow shortly.

The Elk Grove Unified School District tabled a mask mandate debate at its latest meeting, with no second motion given to the idea of suing Governor Newsom over the mandate.

COVID-19 booster vaccines are on their way to Sacramento. They are currently approved for immunocompromised individuals and medical workers, and will soon be available to all. There are many locations that will be offering these shots to fully vaccinated adults.

20-somethings make up the least vaccinated group of people in Sacramento. Will vaccine mandates for many activities change their minds?

With the Delta variant continuing to spread throughout Sacramento, healthcare workers are on the ground vaccinating the city's homeless population. Approximately 1,900 vaccinations have been given to the unhoused since July.

An Elk Grove Unified School District trustee filed a motion to sue Newsom over school masking requirements at the August trustee meeting. The motion was rejected.

Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto has asked all priests and deacons in the Diocese of Sacramento to refrain from signing COVID-19 exemption letters, citing the benefit of the vaccine for the community as a whole.

The owner of Rally's, a new burger drive-thru in Citrus Heights, has overcome many hurdles to open his business in the midst of a pandemic, but one hurdle remains: finding enough staff to actually open for business.

More than 120 local restaurants are preparing to continue offering outdoor dining in the coming fall and winter months.

The Elk Grove City Council has canceled plans to return to in-person public meetings. The July 28 meeting was to be the first one since March 2020, but a rise in COVID-19 cases in Sacramento County prompted the council to keep meetings virtual.

The Sacramento Kings is the latest company to mandate vaccines for its employees, but one group isn’t yet covered under the rule: the players themselves.

Exactly how widespread will vaccine mandates become in Sacramento? Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is in favor of adopting such a program.

Low-income Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal have been vaccinated at far lower rates than the overall population. About 45 percent of eligible Medi-Cal enrollees had received at least one dose as of July 18, compared to about 70 percent of all eligible Californians, state officials said.

Capital Christian School was one of four schools sanctioned for violating COVID safety policies. Capital Christian will be ineligible to play in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs this year, and the football program will be on probation this year and the next two football seasons.

Masks are again required in indoor public places, say Sacramento County health officials. The mandate covers but is not limited to “offices, retail stores, restaurants and bars, theaters, family entertainment centers, conference centers, and State and local government offices serving the public.”

As the number of cases of COVID begin to rise in California again, a new UC Davis study shows that people have become desensitized and disinterested in following public health guidelines. The UC Davis researchers hopes their study can help with public outreach before COVID-19 again reaches crisis levels.

With several California counties now requiring or recommending indoor mask wearing again, Newsom sidesteps the question as to whether or not the state will again make mask wearing a mandate. But can it be avoided?

The Torch Club, a long-loved bar in Sacramento, is now requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination at the door. While the new policy is not expected to be permanent, owner Marina Texeira says she is doing her part to stop the spread of the contagious Delta variant, which has increased significantly in recent weeks.

High school students in Galt will start the 2021-22 school year wearing masks, according to the Galt Joint Union High School District Board. The board said that masks will be required, per Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines, but that that requirement could change as guidelines are updated.

Natomas Buzz publisher Brandy Tuzon Boyd writes about the last day of Coffee Break Cafe, operated by husband-and-wife team Frank and Nuvia Cardona for more than 11 years.

The Citrus Heights City Council discussed federal relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act at its June 10 meeting. Next, the city will seek public input on priorities for how the money should be spent.

About 18 percent of the 1,338 people who found shelter in Project Roomkey motels have been kicked out. Bob Erlenbusch, of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, said that percentage is too high.

After public and private entities invested more than $1 billion in downtown Sacramento during the last decade, some say it was largely abandoned by both leaders and regulars during the pandemic.

Sacramento-area breweries were forced to get creative during the pandemic. And the changes they made are likely to linger as they fully reopen for business June 15.

The Crocker Art Museum, which reopened to the public on April 8 with timed ticket entries, mask requirements, and other precautions, looks forward to jumpstarting its summer art camps for kids and highlighting new exhibitions.

A diverse cohort of new entrepreneurs, artisans and cooks in Sacramento have embarked on building brands and businesses despite a year of pandemic-induced economic turmoil.

As Sacramento and California reopen more businesses on June 15, live entertainment venues are left piecing their once-booming businesses back together.