254 New Covid Cases In Tuolumne

CDC Covid Community Levels June 24

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Tuolumne County Public Health There are 236 new lab-confirmed community cases and 18 Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) inmate cases, with eight hospitalizations from Saturday, June 25th to today, Friday, July 1st. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports 21 active cases at SCC. There are 212 active community cases down from 260 last week which was up from 129.

Tuolumne Office of Emergency Services Coordinator, Dorie Bietz detailed the Tuolumne epi team is coordinating several outbreaks including an assisted living facility and care homes. One challenge for the teams is the CDC changed their definition of a “close contact” from within six feet for 15-minutes to anyone within a shared air space or room without protective devices for more than 15-minutes. This reflects a changed understanding of how the virus spreads and not necessarily that the virus is more contagious.

Bietz shares the current wave of Covid Variant Omicron BA.2 is decreasing but Omicron Variants BA.4 and 5 are increasing and now make up 50% of sampled lab tests. The the overlap of the two waves of variants combined to drive current surge numbers higher. Bietz says, “I don’t have a projection on when we will be up and going back down.” She notes that nationally BA.4/5 is more transmissible than BA.2, not necessarily producing worse disease or more hospitalizations, but as more are get infected hospitalizations are going up.” The impact to the local hospital currently is not severe, “Cases are, for the most part med surge, they are a step down, they are not significantly taking up ICU beds.” Tuolumne County Health Officer Dr. Kimberly Freeman noted two of the three most recent Covid deaths were cases that were hospitalized locally and had comorbidities, the other death was a delayed report of a death that occurred in May. Dr. Freeman agrees for the most part the impact to the hospital has been the same as to other businesses with impacts on staffing due to multiple staff members home due to illness.

Influenza Locally and throughout the region, Tuolumne County reports “We have experiencing elevated levels of Influenza, including 14 patients who were admitted to Adventist Sonora in the past 2 months.” Influenza is a respiratory illness and the way to prevent spreading and getting sick with the flu is the same as protecting yourself and those around you from COVID-19:

• Get vaccinated; contact your healthcare provider or pharmacy about flu vaccine
• Wear a mask in public, especially indoors
• Stay home when sick!
• Keep your distance and avoid crowds when possible
• Wash hands and clean surfaces frequently

From waste water samples throughout California it is known that Covid cases are increasing but no specific percentage of infected people in a given community is known. Tuolumne County Health Officer Dr. Kimberly Freeman reports, “Its not really possible to estimate, nobody really knows how many people are sick and are testing at home and its not being reported.”

The newly reported Covid-19 community cases this week include 12 cases age 17 and younger and 110 cases age 60 or older. The new Covid cases demographics: 5 girls and 5 boys age 0 to 11, 1 girl and 1 boy age 12 to 17, 21 women and 8 men age 18 to 29, 20 women and 11 men in their 30s, 15 women and 11 men in their 40s, 15 women, 11 men and one other in their 50s, 17 women and 25 men in their 60s, 19 women and 12 men in their 70s, 14 women and 8 men in their 80s, and 11 women and 4 men age 90 or older.

The total current case rate, a 14-day average for Tuolumne County increased to 38.5 from 38.5 per 100,000 population. A total of 74 more are counted as released from isolation, in all 11,538 have been released from isolation. The 7-day test positivity rate is 24.2% up from 24.2%.

Monkeypox Tuolumne Public health says, “We continue to monitor and coordinate on the monkeypox disease situation.” There are currently 89 probable and confirmed cases in California, (up from 39 last week) none so far in Tuolumne County. The risk to the general public is considered low at this time and we will continue to provide updates as the situation evolves. Click here for more about monkeypox, including prevention information.”

Calaveras Public Health updates weekly on Tuesdays. They report 83 new lab-confirmed cases from June 22nd to the 28th. The number of cases is up from 77 new lab-confirmed cases among residents the week before. They report 38 active cases, last week there were 22 active cases. There is one active Covid hospitalization to report.

COVID-19 Testing If you test positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 – Isolation instructions (click here) To make an appointment for testing at the testing site visit: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

The regular hours of the Mother Lode testing site are: Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The State testing site at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds launched Test to Treat operations as detailed here.

The site will be closed due to the Mother Lode Fair and Independence Day holiday from Wednesday, June 29^th through Monday, July 4^th. They will reopen on Tuesday, July 5^th and will be open Wednesday, July 6^th for an additional day of operation.

• At-home test kits can be ordered for free at https://www.covid.gov/tests.
• Families with school-age children may obtain free kits by contacting the Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools office.
• A limited number of free at-home kits are available at the Public Health Department (note, as a healthcare facility, masks are required at all times in our lobby).
• At-home test kits are also available for purchase at pharmacies.
• Testing sites at other locations near the area can be found by visiting: https://myturn.ca.gov/testing.html

COVID-19 Vaccine children aged 6 months to 5 years are now eligible for COVID vaccination. The Tuolumne Public Health team has added vaccinations for this age group to our clinic schedule beginning next week or families can check with their child’s healthcare provider. Appointments for June 27, June 29, or July 1 at the health department on Cedar Road in Sonora are available at myturn.ca.gov.  For more information click here: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-moderna-and-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccines-children

More information about Covid Vaccine booster shots can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html. Appointments in Tuolumne and Calaveras can be made through myturn.ca.gov or by calling 833-422-4255 or through local pharmacies, more details are here.