The wave is rising. Quietly. Relentlessly. California isn’t screaming about it yet. The hospitals aren’t overflowing. Not yet. But the signals are screaming. Wastewater is saturated. Emergency rooms are ticking upward. The machinery of public health is pivoting back to pandemic posture. No press conference. No alarm bells. Just masks. Quietly reappearing.
“California currently has ‘high’ coronavirus levels in sewage, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention… increases are being seen across the Golden State, from Los Angeles County to the San Francisco Bay Area to areas around the state capital.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/covid-wave-washes-over-california-100000071.html
The virus isn’t visiting neighborhoods. It’s invading them. Sewage doesn’t exaggerate. The CDC’s flag isn’t a suggestion. It’s an admission that testing has already fallen behind. What flows in the pipes is now flowing into the population.
“For the week that ended Aug. 23, 12.07% of tests across the state came back positive, up from a rate of 6.03% for the week that ended July 26.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/covid-wave-washes-over-california-100000071.html
Positivity doubled in four weeks. In Orange County, it nearly doubled again—18.1% from 9.4%. The virus isn’t creeping forward. It’s sprinting. And the state response? Suggestion, not action. Masks for some, hope for all.
“COVID-19 hospitalizations are currently about as high as last winter’s peak, but remain lower than the peaks of the last two summers.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/covid-wave-washes-over-california-100000071.html
The peaks of last winters were devastating. And now, in September, numbers are already matching that. Late arrival doesn’t mean mild. It means prolonged. This wave is only warming up.
“In L.A. County, 2.8% of emergency room visits were for illnesses such as fever plus a cough or sore throat, up from 2.2% four weeks earlier.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/covid-wave-washes-over-california-100000071.html
ERs aren’t predicting. They’re tallying casualties. Every uptick in visits is a foothold gained by the virus. And the response? Wait and see. Policy by prayer.
“Sisson recommended that everyone age 2 and up in West Sacramento ‘wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces,’ since coronavirus levels in sewage there are high.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/covid-wave-washes-over-california-100000071.html
Masks return not by law, but by necessity. Sewage dictates it. The virus is everywhere the infrastructure pretends it isn’t. The public isn’t alerted. They’re nudged. Carefully. Politely. Quietly.
Vaccines exist. Distribution exists. Messaging exists. But the virus doesn’t negotiate. It spreads through classrooms, airports, Labor Day barbecues. The state knows. The CDC knows. The public? Still catching up.
This isn’t a resurgence. It’s a relapse. Institutions that vowed vigilance are whispering through pipes and ER counters. The masks aren’t optional anymore. The virus is relentless. And California’s quiet surrender has already begun.
