Mayor Todd Gloria proposes lifting COVID-19 emergency and city employee mandate for vacancy

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Nearly three years after the coronavirus pandemic began, Mayor Todd Gloria, City Attorney Mara Elliott, and City Councilwoman Marnie Von Wilpert released a joint statement on Monday proposing to lift the city’s COVID-19 state of emergency. 19 and a mandate for city employees to vaccinate. .

The city has been in a state of emergency since March 17, 2020, under the administration of then Mayor Kevin Faulconer. It has since been renovated and expanded several times by the Democratic-led San Diego City Council.

“In line with the decision of the State of California to lift the state of emergency due to COVID-19 effective February 28, 2023, the City of San Diego will seek to implement similar measures as conditions requiring a local declaration of a state of emergency steadily improve.” — Gloria . This is according to a joint statement by Elliot and von Wilpert.

“As part of this action, we will also end our mandate to vaccinate City employees due to a decrease in COVID-19 positive cases and hospitalizations, and that 91% of City employees have been vaccinated.

“We are in this improved state because, overall, the people of San Diegan have contributed to the fight against the pandemic by getting vaccinated and following public health guidelines,” the statement said.

Officials thanked first responders, essential workers and healthcare workers for taking on the task of keeping the community safe and trying to limit the spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

The statement does not specify whether city employees who were not vaccinated will be returned to work, nor does it say that they were fired for their personal medical choices.

“We will continue to take COVID-19 with all the seriousness it requires, but so far we are pleased with the success of our efforts to protect the health and safety of our employees and the public,” they said.

The San Diego City Council will consider the proposal at a council meeting on Tuesday at 10:00 am.