A Shasta County man in his 80’s has died from COVID-19, bringing the county death toll to 29. There are another 30 cases as well, for a total of 1,666. The new patients include 12 men and 18 women, with the youngest under age 13 and the oldest over age 89. There are 138 active cases. 7 are hospitalized and two are in intensive care. 380 people are quarantined due to possible exposure.
Butte County has reported 50 deaths among their 2,961 confirmed cases. Tehama County has had 731 cases and 8 deaths. 20 cases have been confirmed in Trinity County. Glenn County has had 639 cases and 3 deaths. Lassen County has had one death among 115 cases in the community and 637 in prison. There have been 183 in Siskiyou County with one death and 533 in Humboldt County with 8 deaths. Modoc County has reported 27 cases.
Shasta County is leading the state with its rapidly growing infection rate, with a test positivity rate around 5 times the state average. The upward trend for Shasta County began around the start of September, largely driven by nursing homes and Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. While much of California is enjoying eased restrictions, Shasta County will enter the most restrictive purple tier in the middle of this week and by Friday many businesses will be forced to close. A full list of restrictions can be seen at shastaready.org.
The state has updated its guidance that will allow schools to host band practice and singing as long as they are outdoors and physical distancing and mask wearing are observed as much as possible. Playing of wind instruments is strongly discouraged.
There have been 55,206 negative tests in Shasta County. There are several free options to get tested, which can be found by going to shastaready.org and clicking on “get tested”.