SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The San Diego City Council today voted to end the city’s COVID-19 emergency declaration and a city employee vaccine mandate at the end of February. Mayor Todd Gloria, City Attorney Mara Elliott and City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert on Monday released a joint statement proposing to end the emergency declaration — which had been in effect since March 17, 2020, under then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s administration.
Since that date, it has been renewed and extended multiple times by the San Diego City Council. “Consistent with the State of California’s decision to lift the COVID- 19 state of emergency effective Feb. 28, 2023, the city of San Diego will look to take similar action as “As part of this action, we will also sunset our vaccine mandate for city employees due to a decrease in COVID-19 positive cases and hospitalizations, and 91% of city employees having been vaccinated.
“We find ourselves in this improved state because, by and large, San Diegans did their part in the fight against the pandemic by getting vaccinated and following public health guidance,” the statement added. On Nov. 29, 2021, the City Council adopted the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, which required current and newly hired or appointed city employees, elected officials, board members and volunteers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.