Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced on Twitter Saturday afternoon that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
It’s not clear where or when Steinberg contracted the highly contagious virus, but he said he received a positive test on Friday. The mayor, who turns 62 in October, said being fully vaccinated has kept severe symptoms at bay.
“I am experiencing a fever and cold-like symptoms. I will be fine as I quarantine at home and refrain from public events until doctors tell me it’s safe for me to go out,” Steinberg said on Twitter. "Please everybody get vaccinated. The Delta variant is highly contagious, and if you’re not vaccinated there’s a much higher chance of serious illness or death. Please take good care, Sacramento.”
— @mayor_Steinberg (@Mayor_Steinberg) September 11, 2021
Sacramento has seen a dramatic increase of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as the delta variant has continued to spread across the county.
As of Sept. 9, 370 confirmed COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in Sacramento County, 95 of whom are in intensive care units. Around 55% of Sacramento County residents have been fully vaccinated.
Since the start of the pandemic, 133,480 Sacramento County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,907 have died. In the city, nearly 74,000 people have contracted the virus.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those fully vaccinated. It also found that vaccinated people were nearly five times less likely to get infected and 10 times less likely to become hospitalized.
However, the studies suggest that the effectiveness of the vaccines may have dropped as the delta variant became dominant.
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