Monday, August 31, 2020
Public Health Confirms 20 New COVID-19 Cases, Another Hospitalization
Posted By Thadeus Greenson @ThadeusGreenson on Mon, Aug 31, 2020 at 4:25 PM
Humboldt County Public Health announced this afternoon that it has confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, making 155 for the month of August after the county recorded 100 in July. The county also announced that another resident has been hospitalized with the disease.
In a press release, Health Officer Teresa Frankovich indicated that travel and people gathering with friends and family outside their households remain driving forces in the virus' spread locally. She also referenced the new framework the state announced Friday, saying if Humboldt County wants to remain considered "moderate" risk with lesser restrictions, residents need to remain vigilant.
“While many of the new cases are still under investigation, travel outside of Humboldt County and gatherings of individuals with those who live outside their households continue to emerge as significant risk factors for spread of infection," she said. "If we want to remain in Tier 3 or even improve to Tier 4 in the new state framework, everyone will need to do their part to decrease transmission by using all of our prevention measures.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced sweeping revisions Friday to the state's program governing what businesses, services and organizations can open throughout the state and how they must modify operations. The new system does away with the watch list, replacing it with a four-tiered risk assessment based on a seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents and testing positivity rates, with tiers ranging from "minimal" to "widespread." Humboldt, averaging 3.6 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week with a positivity rate of 1.4 percent, according to the California Department of Public Health, is listed as "moderate."
Today's cases come after Public Health tested 784 samples with a positivity rate of about 2.5 percent.
In a press release, Health Officer Teresa Frankovich indicated that travel and people gathering with friends and family outside their households remain driving forces in the virus' spread locally. She also referenced the new framework the state announced Friday, saying if Humboldt County wants to remain considered "moderate" risk with lesser restrictions, residents need to remain vigilant.
“While many of the new cases are still under investigation, travel outside of Humboldt County and gatherings of individuals with those who live outside their households continue to emerge as significant risk factors for spread of infection," she said. "If we want to remain in Tier 3 or even improve to Tier 4 in the new state framework, everyone will need to do their part to decrease transmission by using all of our prevention measures.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced sweeping revisions Friday to the state's program governing what businesses, services and organizations can open throughout the state and how they must modify operations. The new system does away with the watch list, replacing it with a four-tiered risk assessment based on a seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents and testing positivity rates, with tiers ranging from "minimal" to "widespread." Humboldt, averaging 3.6 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week with a positivity rate of 1.4 percent, according to the California Department of Public Health, is listed as "moderate."
Today's cases come after Public Health tested 784 samples with a positivity rate of about 2.5 percent.
To date, Humboldt county has seen 388 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 22 hospitalizations and four deaths. Nationally, 6 million cases have been confirmed with 182,622 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. California, meanwhile, has recorded 704,085 confirmed cases with 12,933 deaths, according to the Department of Public Health.
Humboldt County Public Health is urging residents who aren't experiencing symptoms to get tested free of charge at the mobile testing site at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds. (People experiencing symptoms should contact a healthcare provider, officials say.) Asymptomatic individuals can make an appointment to be tested by visiting https://Lhi.care/covidtesting or calling (888) 634-1123. Tests will be administered free of charge, whether or not people have health insurance.
Basics of COVID-19
The California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control, state that symptoms of novel coronavirus include cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or at least two of the following: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat or a new loss of taste or smell.
Emergency warning signs needing immediate medical attention include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to awaken, and bluish lips or face.
In an emergency situation:
Call ahead to the emergency room or inform the 911 operator of the possibility of a COVID-19 infection and, if possible, put on a face mask.
Symptoms or possible exposure:
In the case of a possible exposure with symptoms — fever and cough or shortness of breath — contact your doctor’s office or the county Department of Health and Human Services, which has a hotline that can be reached during business hours at [email protected] or at (707) 441-5000. Residents seeking medical advice or questions about testing are asked to contact Public Health at [email protected] or at (707) 445-6200.
St. Joseph Health has also set up a virtual assessment tool as an aid to assess risk factors for contracting the illness, which can be found at here.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has started a rumor-control webpage that can be found here.
For the Journal's latest COVID stories, updates and information resources, click here.
Read the county's release below.
Humboldt County Public Health is urging residents who aren't experiencing symptoms to get tested free of charge at the mobile testing site at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds. (People experiencing symptoms should contact a healthcare provider, officials say.) Asymptomatic individuals can make an appointment to be tested by visiting https://Lhi.care/covidtesting or calling (888) 634-1123. Tests will be administered free of charge, whether or not people have health insurance.
Basics of COVID-19
The California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control, state that symptoms of novel coronavirus include cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or at least two of the following: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat or a new loss of taste or smell.
Emergency warning signs needing immediate medical attention include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to awaken, and bluish lips or face.
In an emergency situation:
Call ahead to the emergency room or inform the 911 operator of the possibility of a COVID-19 infection and, if possible, put on a face mask.
Symptoms or possible exposure:
In the case of a possible exposure with symptoms — fever and cough or shortness of breath — contact your doctor’s office or the county Department of Health and Human Services, which has a hotline that can be reached during business hours at [email protected] or at (707) 441-5000. Residents seeking medical advice or questions about testing are asked to contact Public Health at [email protected] or at (707) 445-6200.
St. Joseph Health has also set up a virtual assessment tool as an aid to assess risk factors for contracting the illness, which can be found at here.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has started a rumor-control webpage that can be found here.
For the Journal's latest COVID stories, updates and information resources, click here.
Read the county's release below.
August 31, 2020 - 20 New Cases Reported Since Friday
Twenty new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since Friday, bringing to 388 the total number of county residents who have tested positive for the virus.
Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich said, “While many of the new cases are still under investigation, travel outside of Humboldt County and gatherings of individuals with those who live outside their households continue to emerge as significant risk factors for spread of infection. If we want to remain in Tier 3 or even improve to Tier 4 in the new state framework, everyone will need to do their part to decrease transmission by using all of our prevention measures.”
Daily and weekly datasets on the Humboldt County Data Dashboard have been updated. Some highlights include:
The county’s confirmed case rate is significantly less than the state and nation at 287 cases per 100,000 residents compared to 1,763 and 1,824 respectively.
The 20-29 age group continues to represent the highest number of cases at nearly 25 percent.
Today’s alert level stands at two or level yellow. Visit humboldtgov.org/dashboard to view the county’s Alert Level Assessment tool.
For the most recent COVID-19 information, visit cdc.gov or cdph.ca.gov. Local information is available at humboldtgov.org or during business hours by contacting [email protected] or calling 707-441-5000.
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/dashboard,
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19,
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19,
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19, and
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
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About The Author
Thadeus Greenson
Bio:
Thadeus Greenson is the news editor of the North Coast Journal.
Thadeus Greenson is the news editor of the North Coast Journal.
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