(Updated) The Governor has said that the Covid-19 emergency is officially over as of today, February 28, 2023. The federal Covid-19 emergency is set to expire on May 11, 2023. The national and/or statewide Covid-19 emergency situation might have ended, but Covid-19 itself isn't actually "over".  By now, many, many people have been vaccinated and gotten boosters. And there are drugs available for treatment, such that the threat of severe problems across the entire population has been greatly reduced. Yet in reality, Covid has morphed into an ongoing threat to at-risk populations like the elderly, children, people with pre-existing conditions (obesity, chronic kidney disease, CF, diabetes, etc.), smokers, and certain racial/minority groups. So, even though the threat to the general population is significantly lessened, we should all be aware that the threat continues for a segment of the population and act accordingly.

For the record, we wrote about the Covid-19 emergency back in 2020 and added it to the high-level issues that scroll around on our home page. Here's what we said:

"The Delta Variant led to Omicron and now the Omicrom sub-variants. Stay safe. Maintain social distance. Wear a mask indoors. Get vaccinated and boosted. Support local businesses. Thanks to our healthcare heros, first responders and essential workers. Respect gets respect."

Though the state's Covid-19 PANdemic emergency is gone, the ENdemic has replaced it. People are still getting infected, being hospitalized and dying from Covid, albeit at much lower rates. The state is now being "SMARTER" about Covid, as in: S=shots, M=masks, A=awareness, R=readiness, T=testing, E=education, and R=Rx. At the moment, Sacramento County is among the California counties with a "medium" risk, meaning those of us here should consider using masks and, for those of us in high risk groups (e.g. work in health care or long-term care, have tested positive, in an at-risk population, etc.) should use quality face coverings. More information is available from the state's Department of Public Health.