News

Public Health reported one new confirmed COVID-19 case today, bringing the county's total to 534, and an additional hospitalization.

Under state data released today, Humboldt remains in the "minimum" risk tier with a test positivity rate of 0.7 percent and an adjusted case rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people, an improvement from last week's 1.5 percent and 2 cases stats.

The statewide level is now 6.8 cases per 100,000 and a test positivity rate of 3.4 percent.  New this week, Humboldt County Data Dashboard now includes hospitalization rates by age group, death rates by age group and case totals by ZIP code, the latter of which will be reported in "a range of 0 to 5 for case count until the area surpasses 5 total cases," according to a county news release.

After that threshold has been reached in a ZIP code, the exact number will be included. According to today's information, Arcata and Eureka lead the county, with 106 and 177, respectively. Fortuna was at 48 and McKinleyville showed 44.

Health official caution that the numbers don't tell the whole story, like where an individual acquired COVID-19, and precautions should be taken no matter which part of the county a person lives in, visits or works.
The county also recently revamped its risk assessment tool to better align with the state's tiered COVID risk assessment system. Read more about recent guidelines released by the state on everything from social gatherings and weddings to Halloween and Dia de los Muertos here, here, here and here.

Today's numbers include the testing of 107 samples. To date, Humboldt has seen 35 hospitalizations and eight 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.

Find the county release below.