Three more Shasta County residents have died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 157. The latest were all women: one in her 50’s, one in her 60’s, one in her 70’s and one in her 80’s. Another 49 cases have been reported, as well as 728 negative tests. The total number of cases so far is 10,573. An estimated 263 people have the virus right now, 19 of them hospitalized and 2 in intensive care.
Tehama County has reported 4,831 cases and 47 deaths.
There have been 308 cases and 5 deaths in Trinity County.
1,593 have been reported in Siskiyou County with 13 deaths.
Butte County has reported 145 deaths among their 10,205 cases.
Lassen County has had 19 deaths among their 1,962 cases in the community and 2 deaths among the 3,473 cases in prison.
Glenn County has had 2,048 cases and 23 deaths.
Humboldt County has had 2,877 cases and 31 deaths.
Modoc County has had 424 cases and 4 deaths.
With some of the biggest spikes in cases coming in the two weeks following Thanksgiving and Christmas, Shasta County Public Health is strongly discouraging people from different households gathering for Super Bowl parties that easily could become super spreader events.
Any Shasta County resident who has gotten the first dose of vaccine should check shastaready.org for instructions on getting the next shot. A mass clinic will take place at the fairgrounds in Anderson on February 13th. The county is still vaccinating only healthcare workers and people aged 75 and older. Anyone who wants to be in line for the shot should go to shastaready.org and click on “Tell Me When It’s My Turn” or call 245-7890. Public health will then call to make an appointment when the vaccine becomes available.
Shasta County’s adjusted case rate has improved from 36.5 to 25 daily cases per 100,000 residents. It would be lower with more widespread testing. If this and some other metrics remain low for two weeks, Shasta County may move back into the red tier.
A top international Red Cross organization has announced a plan to help support the immunization of 500 million people worldwide against COVID-19 amid concerns about vast inequalities in the rollout of vaccines between rich and poor countries.
Health experts say the U.S. is behind in detecting dangerous Coronavirus mutations but trying to catch up. Viruses mutate constantly. Less than 1% of positive specimens in the U.S. are being sequenced to determine whether they have mutations.
Testing is free and convenient, with appointment information at shastaready.org