News

Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 10 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the county's cumulative tally to 3,160.

The results were released after labs processed 297 samples with a test-positivity rate of 3.4 percent.

According to the county's dashboard, eight local residents are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Local available intensive care unit capacity, meanwhile, has risen to 21.4 percent.

Public Health also announced today that Humboldt County has been allocated 4,740 additional COVID-19 vaccination doses for next week. To date, the county has administered 26,789 vaccine doses, with 7,374 local residents having been fully vaccinated and another 12,041 having received the first of the required two doses.

When the state of California updated its COVID risk tier assignments Tuesday, it moved Humboldt County into the state's red tier for the first time since January, as local officials had predicted.

The new designation means some businesses and organizations can reopen indoor operations, including restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and places of worship, at reduced capacity.

The state data shows the county with a seven-day average test-positive rate of 2.7 percent and a daily case rate of 6.3 per 100,000, compared to California overall, which has a 4.8 positivity rate and 15.2 cases per 100,000.
The county's Joint Information Center also reported Friday that the state Department of Public Health has released updates guidelines for youth and adult recreational sports, which allow some to resume with safety measures in place in counties with case relates below an average of 14 new cases confirmed daily per 100,000 residents. The measures will take effect next Friday and the county will release additional information before then, according to the release.

Last Thursday, the county announced it had confirmed the presence of a never-before-seen COVID-19 variation in 16 cases associated with the catastrophic outbreak at Granada Rehabilitation and Wellness. Read more about that here.

Vaccination efforts, meanwhile, continue to move slowly forward, with residents over the age of 70, healthcare workers, teachers and first responders currently eligible to receive their shots. The clinics remain by invitation only and residents are urged to complete the county's vaccination interest form to be notified when they are eligible.


Residents are urged to continue to follow COVID safety guidelines as vaccinations roll out, which could take months.

To date, Humboldt County has confirmed 3,160 cases, with 133 hospitalizations and 33 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths.

The county dashboard lists 3,009 people as having "recovered" from the virus locally, though that just means they are no longer contagious and does not account for long-term health impacts, which local healthcare workers have told the Journal can be substantial, even in previously healthy patients.

The county’s test positivity rate has gone from 3.6 percent in November, to 7.3 percent in December, to 9.9 percent in January. Through the first 25 days of February, the test-positivity rate sits at 6.6 percent.

Nationwide, more than 28.1 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, with 501,181 related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In California, 3.5 million cases have been confirmed with 50,991 deaths, according to the Department of Public Health.

The state has issued a travel advisory strongly discouraging all non-essential travel and urging anyone returning from non essential, out-of-state travel needs to self-quarantine for a minimum of 10 days upon their return.

Meanwhile, the county's Joint Information Center is urging locals to get tested, calling it "one of the most helpful things county residents can do for the community at large," because it allows Public Health to catch cases early and limit spread. The state-run OptumServe testing site at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds in Eureka is open seven days a week and no-cost appointments can be made by clicking here or calling (888) 634-1123.