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On Friday, Public Health released case data for the week ending Aug. 7, broken up by vaccination status and it shows unvaccinated residents caught the virus at roughly three times the rate of their fully vaccinated peers. For the week, fully vaccinated individuals saw a case rate of 26 per 100,000 residents, while unvaccinated residents saw a case rate of 75 per 100,000 residents.

The recent spike in cases and a corresponding threat to local hospital capacity prompted Health Officer Ian Hoffman to announce a new countywide masking mandate that went into effect Aug. 7.

National, state and local health officials advise that vaccination remains an incredibly safe and effective protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death from COIVD-19, and the county has a host of no-cost clinics scheduled over the next week. (See the full schedule below.)

The case surge is also impacting local testing capacity, public health reports, with the county's OptumServe site and local pharmacies struggling to meet demand. The county announced today that it is expanding testing capacity locally and will open a new Eureka location to offer no-cost testing "most weekdays." Additionally, OptumServe, which provides no-cost testing seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka, also holds testing clinics fonce a week in McKinleyville, Fortuna, Hoopa and Arcata. Due to high demand, appointments are encouraged and can be made here.

Public Health also reported today that in light of the surge in local cases, many residents have turned to at-home over-the-counter rapid antigen tests to screen for COVID-19. Unlike laboratory tests, these tests require a high level of virus to trigger a positive result, meaning false-positive results are very unlikely. Consequently, Public Health advises that folks who test positive for the virus at home do not need to get a confirmatory laboratory test unless one is required for work, school or the direction of a medical professional. Instead, folks who test positive at home and are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic should isolate for 10 days and notify any close contacts — defined as anyone you spent more than a cumulative 15 minutes within 6 feet of over a 24-hour period — of their exposure.

According to a data tracker run by the nonprofit news organization CalMatters, Humboldt's COVID-19 hospitalization rate is 22 patients per 100,000 residents.

Del Norte County, meanwhile, now has the worst rate in California, with 19 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including five under intensive care, out of a population of around 29,000, which is equivalent to 64.7 hospitalized COVID-19 patients per 100,000 residents. According to the state database, there are no ICU beds available.

During a press conference last week, Hoffman said he believes the highly contagious Delta variant — which data indicates may be twice as contagious as the original strain of COVID-19 — is driving the surge in Humboldt case numbers, as is the case nationally.

"Delta is very different," Hoffman said. "This is not the same virus. It's almost like we are dealing with a whole new pandemic."

Earlier this month, health officials also urged local residents to reconsider gatherings with people outside their households.

The local case news comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released new data indicating the Delta variant is highly transmittable, even among fully vaccinated people. While data indicates the vaccines remain highly effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and death, the CDC warns that it leads to very high viral loads even among vaccinated, mildly symptomatic people, meaning they can still transmit the virus to others.

In addition to wearing masks, Public Health is urging residents to help limit the spread of the virus by participating in contact tracing efforts and getting vaccinated.

Public Health is urging residents who have yet to do so to get their COVID-19 vaccines, as it is the only protection against severe illness and death from the virus. This week's Public Health vaccine clinics include Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson doses. The full schedule includes:
Ferndale – Thursday, Aug. 19, from noon to 3 p.m.
Humboldt County Fair – Belotti Hall (1250 Fifth St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Trinidad – Thursday, Aug. 19, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Trinidad Elementary School (300 Trinity St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Ferndale – Friday, Aug. 20, from noon to 3 p.m.
Humboldt County Fair – main parking lot (1250 Fifth St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Carlotta – Friday, Aug. 20, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Cuddeback Elementary (300 Wilder Road) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

McKinleyville – Saturday, Aug. 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Church of the Joyful Healer (1944 Central Ave.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Ferndale – Saturday, Aug. 21, from noon to 5 p.m.
Humboldt County Fair – main parking lot (1250 Fifth St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Arcata – Sunday, Aug. 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Carlson Park (Mad River Pkwy. E) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Ferndale – Sunday, Aug. 22, from noon to 5 p.m.
Humboldt County Fair – main parking lot (1250 Fifth St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

To make an appointment in advance or view additional vaccination opportunities and to request help with transportation, visit www.vaccines.gov or www.myturn.ca.gov.


As of today, Humboldt County had confirmed 6,288 cases, with 292 hospitalizations and 59 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths.

The county dashboard listed 5,060 cases as having been "cleared," though that just means they are no longer considered active 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 and 9.9 percent in January, before dropping to 6.5 percent in February. In March, it dropped to 4.5 percent before inching back up to 5.9 percent in April. In May, it jumped to 8.3 percent but fell back to 5.9 percent in June. In July, it rose to 10.1 percent — the highest at any point in the pandemic.

Nationwide, more than 37 million cases have been confirmed with 621,344 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Of those, 4 million cases and 64,291 related deaths have been confirmed in California, according to the Department of Public Health.

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 assessing risk factors for contracting the illness, which can be found 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 Joint Information Center release below: