Nevada County is in-line with the state regarding the number of cases which has dropped to 46 per 100 thousand as the mask mandate was relaxed for fully vaccinated individual. However, the mandate is still in effect for the unvaccinated people. During a media briefing, County Health and Human Services Director Ryan Gruver said the cases per week peaked in late January at over 1600 cases per week, but they have been trending downward with 494 last week.

However, public health officials are still cautioning people against spreading the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

County Public Health Director Jill Blake is celebrating the “relentless incrementalism” of increasing numbers of vaccinated residents.

The number of fully vaccinated individuals is also slowly going up.

Officials also strongly recommend using higher-end masks such as KN95 and N95 masks as they provide more protection than cloth or surgical masks.