Monday, September 21, 2020
Public Health: Three New COVID-19 Cases Confirmed Since Friday
Posted By Thadeus Greenson @ThadeusGreenson on Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 4:21 PM
Humboldt County Public Health reported this afternoon that it has confirmed three new COVID-19 cases since Friday, continuing a lull in cases that began in the middle of last week.
The county has seen just six new cases confirmed over the past six days after having averaged six new cases per day over the first 15 days of September.
The county has also revised its case data dashboard to provide a bit more information about the breakdown of local cases by age. Most notably, 44 percent of local cases have been diagnosed in people under the age of 30, with 8 percent of the county’s caseload confirmed in children under the age of 10. The largest age demographic represented in the county’s caseload to date is the 20-to-29 age group, which accounts for 23.5 percent of local cases.
The county has seen just six new cases confirmed over the past six days after having averaged six new cases per day over the first 15 days of September.
The county has also revised its case data dashboard to provide a bit more information about the breakdown of local cases by age. Most notably, 44 percent of local cases have been diagnosed in people under the age of 30, with 8 percent of the county’s caseload confirmed in children under the age of 10. The largest age demographic represented in the county’s caseload to date is the 20-to-29 age group, which accounts for 23.5 percent of local cases.
Humboldt County remains in the “moderate” category under the state's new four-tiered system. Health officials warned last week that the region was on the verge of being pushed into the “substantial” risk tier, with a test positivity rate of 3.6 percent over the prior week. But today's report brings the positivity rate down to 2.9 percent.
The state's "substantial" risk tier — which includes counties averaging between 4 and seven new cases a day per 100,000 residents or test positivity rates of 5 to 8 percent — brings tighter restrictions, including further limiting indoor restaurant and gym capacities and closing some "non-essential indoor business operations," like office. If the county were to move into the "substantial risk" tier, it would then need to record numbers in the "moderate" tier for 21 consecutive days before the state would loosen the added restrictions. The state's framework, which was updated Sept. 14, was looking at county level data as of Sept. 5. It is expected to be updated again tomorrow.
Statewide, the testing positivity rate sat at about 4.2 percent — the national rate is 5.0 percent — with an average of 7.7 new COVID-19 cases confirmed daily per 100,000 residents, as of the Sept. 14 report.
Today's announcement of three new cases was made after laboratories processed 483 samples with a positivity rate of 0.6 percent.
To date, Humboldt County has seen 27 COVID-19 hospitalizations and six deaths.
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.
The state's "substantial" risk tier — which includes counties averaging between 4 and seven new cases a day per 100,000 residents or test positivity rates of 5 to 8 percent — brings tighter restrictions, including further limiting indoor restaurant and gym capacities and closing some "non-essential indoor business operations," like office. If the county were to move into the "substantial risk" tier, it would then need to record numbers in the "moderate" tier for 21 consecutive days before the state would loosen the added restrictions. The state's framework, which was updated Sept. 14, was looking at county level data as of Sept. 5. It is expected to be updated again tomorrow.
Statewide, the testing positivity rate sat at about 4.2 percent — the national rate is 5.0 percent — with an average of 7.7 new COVID-19 cases confirmed daily per 100,000 residents, as of the Sept. 14 report.
Today's announcement of three new cases was made after laboratories processed 483 samples with a positivity rate of 0.6 percent.
To date, Humboldt County has seen 27 COVID-19 hospitalizations and six deaths.
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.
Sept. 21, 2020 - Three New Cases Reported Since Friday
707-441-5000 ; [email protected] ; Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm Opens in new window
Three new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since Friday, bringing to 485 the total number of county residents who have tested positive for the virus.
The Humboldt County Data Dashboard now provides more information about cases by age. The 0-19 age group has been broken down into two categories, 0-9 and 10-19 years old. About 8 percent of the county’s cases have been in the 0-9 age group and nearly 12 percent have been in the 10-19 age group.
Other daily and weekly datasets on the Dashboard have been updated. Some highlights include:
The 20-29 age group represents the largest number of local cases at 23.5 percent.
Nearly 44 percent of local cases have been diagnosed in people under the age of 30.
The time it would take to double the county’s case count is now 50 days.
The county’s confirmed case rate is 362 per 100,000 residents. The state and national rates are more than five times higher at 1,949 and 2,070 cases respectively.
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.
