Coronavirus cases are continuing to spike and 185 cases have been reported in Shasta County in the past two days. Public health reported that there were 110 new cases on Sunday and 75 on Monday for a total of 3,483. 26 people are hospitalized and only 3 are in intensive care. Because of the overwhelming number of cases and delays in lab reporting, public health can’t provide an accurate count of active cases or people in quarantine.
Public health says the record high case numbers are not an isolated outbreak that can be easily contained. The virus is spreading throughout the community. The latest data shows Shasta County with a case rate of 34 per 100,000 residents. 7 is the limit for the purple tier. Shasta County must show red tier numbers for two consecutive weeks before restrictions will ease. Still, many businesses continue to ignore the state mandate.
In the purple tier:
— Retail stores can only allow 25% capacity.
— Bars must close.
— It’s outdoors, delivery and take-out only for restaurants.
— Churches, museums, entertainment and exercise facilities can only operate outdoors.
Saying there’s a potential for the pandemic to overwhelm the health care system, the Governor has announced a statewide mandate for face coverings to be worn whenever someone is outside the home, with limited exceptions. Also, 28 counties in the state are being moved into the purple tier, including Butte, Glenn, Siskiyou, and Trinity. 9 counties are going into the red tier, including Humboldt and Modoc.
The Governors of California, Oregon and Washington have issued travel advisories urging people entering their states or returning from travel to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
Tehama County has had 1,249 cases and 19 deaths. Trinity County has had 68 cases. Siskiyou County has had 403 cases and one death. Butte County has had 3,501 cases and 57 deaths. Glenn County has had 791 cases and 6 deaths. 653 cases are reported in Humboldt County with 10 deaths. Lassen County has had one death among their 218 cases in the community and 917 in prison. Modoc County has had 98 cases.
Widespread testing is a vital component in getting Shasta County out of the purple tier. There have been 77,454 negative tests in Shasta County. Free testing options can be found at shastaready.org.
There’s a lot of information at shastaready.org, the Facebook Coronavirus Information Center and cdc.gov.