Shasta County continues to see a dramatic rise in new cases of COVID-19. The county saw 111 new cases over the past two days including 43 on Sunday and 68 on Monday for a total of 2,741. 27 people are currently hospitalized, an increase of 10 from Monday. 4 people are in intensive care. Since October 29th, the county has seen nearly 700 cases. The county has fallen deeper into the purple tier as the adjusted case rate has increased from 10.4 to 20.2 daily cases per 100,000 residents. The positivity rate has also increased from 4.1% to 6.1%, according to the latest data available which covers the week of October 25th through the 31st. The numbers will likely be higher as public health has tied a number of cases to Halloween parties. There are currently 111 active cases and 338 people are quarantined do to possible exposure.
Limiting contact with others is the key to containing the spread of the virus and reopening our economy. Public health says people should stay home as much as possible, and when they do go out they should maintain distance from others, wear face masks, avoid those not wearing masks and wash hands frequently.
Shasta County’s purple tier restrictions went into effect Saturday night. State agencies will likely take a more aggressive enforcement role now that the county has entered the most severe level of restrictions.
— Retail stores can only allow 25% capacity.
— Bars must close.
— It’s delivery and take-out only for restaurants.
— Churches, museums, entertainment and exercise facilities can operate outdoors.
— Hair and nail salons, tattooing and piercing are allowed.
— Kindergarten through 12th grade schools do not need to close.
Shasta County must show red tier numbers for two consecutive weeks before restrictions will ease. The latest data shows a test positivity rate of 11.3%.
Trinity County is sounding the alarm after 19 new cases in two days brings their total to 62. They’re asking people to get tested if they attended church in Weaverville recently or visited any bars in Hayfork around Halloween, especially the Hayfork Hotel.
Two Northstate counties are moving into tighter restrictions due to a surge in Coronavirus cases. The state announced Tuesday that both Siskiyiou and Modoc Counties will be moving from the yellow tier and into the more restrictive orange tier. Both counties have seen a rapid increase in cases. Siskiyou County reported the counties 1st death Tuesday among their 314 cases. Modoc County has jumped to 79 cases.
Tehama County is up to 1,057 cases and 19 deaths. Butte County has had 3,318 cases and 56 deaths, including someone in their 20’s with no underlying conditions. Glenn County has had 733 cases and now 5 deaths. 586 cases are reported in Humboldt County with 9 deaths. Lassen County has had one death among their 150 cases in the community and 644 in prison.
Public health says anyone who tests positive should self quarantine immediately and begin notifying anyone with whom they’ve been in close contact. Widespread testing is a vital component in getting Shasta County out of the purple tier. There have been 69,129 negative tests in Shasta County. Free testing options can be found at shastaready.org.