COVID-19 Case Count Adjusted In Tuolumne County

This illustration by Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Sonora, CA – Tuolumne County now has four identified cases of COVID-19, but health officials advise “there is no risk to the public” in this latest case.

The latest case involves a second person from the county that tested positive for coronavirus. However, they were quarantined on a cruise ship in March and recovered before disembarking and returning to the county. The state is now assigning cruise ship cases to the county where the person resides.  County Health spokesperson Michelle Jachetta explains, “We didn’t have to investigate it, the state did that. They’ve [the person] completed their isolation period, so now we’re just absorbing that case into our data count.”

This is the reverse of what happened with the first case of a non-resident in the county. As reported here, a 31-year-old woman contracted the virus in Mono County and then traveled to Tuolumne County where she began to feel sick and tested positive. Last week her case was officially transferred to Mono County’s case count because that is where she lives, as detailed here. Also last week, Calaveras County had to adjust their case count to eight related to three passengers on a cruise ship that tested positive and all reside in the county, as reported here.

The gender and age of this latest Tuolumne County resident were not released.