Regional Update: Tuolumne County May Be Missing Info On Recent Positive Results

Tuolumne County Public Health

Sonora, CA – Tuolumne County Public Health reports no new Tuolumne County residents have been identified with coronavirus but the California Department of Public Health confirms Tuolumne is not getting all the lab reports they need. As reported here Tuolumne County Health Officer Dr. Liza Ortiz spoke to the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors about the issues with the state’s COVID-19 reporting system today.

Tuolumne Public Health requests, “If you are a Tuolumne County resident and have received a positive COVID-19 test result, and you have not heard from Public Health, please self-isolate and call us right away at (209) 533-7440.” They also recommend visiting www.valleycovidhelp.com for more information.

Nine COVID-19 positive individuals are reported as not under isolation and are listed as recovered. One individual who was isolating is now hospitalized and one left the hospital and is isolating. Known Tuolumne tests: 8,032, positive 144 (73 females and 71 males), hospitalized 3, active cases 11, total recovered 131.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) says it has discovered an underreporting of COVID-19 cases due to technology issues with the electronic laboratory reporting system which reports into the state’s disease registry system (CalREDIE). However, patient care and test results are not affected or delayed by this issue. The State Public Health Department says laboratories continue to report test results directly to providers and hospitals, and hospitalization and death rates are not impacted as they are reported directly to the state through different systems. In addition to CalREDIE having issues, the CDPH says “This is also likely leading to underreporting of cases at the local level as well.” Noting, “While clinicians are still able to report to local health departments, this issue may impact a local public health department’s ability to receive all lab reports in order to case investigate and contact trace.”

To address this issue, CDPH has taken the following actions:

• Deployed a team from the Department of Technology to assess the underlying code;
• Engaged our local public health officers to ensure they have necessary information;
• Instructed all laboratories in California to manually report all positive cases to the local public health departments.

Tuolumne County Public Health Updates

If you are having COVID-like symptoms, self-isolate and contact your healthcare provider or the Adventist Health Triage Line at 209-536-5166 Mon-Fri, or 209-536-5000 after hours. If you need immediate medical attention, please call ahead and go to Rapid Care or the Emergency Department. You can also visit www.valleycovidhelp.com for more information.

The no-cost state testing site is open at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds Tuesday – Saturday 7am to 7pm. Appointments can be scheduled ahead of time at: https://lhi.care/covidtesting Appointments are strongly recommended as walk-ins are extremely limited. The site now offers testing for children ages 3 and older (accompanied by a parent or guardian).

It is important that people continue to follow prevention guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including:

• Practice physical distancing at all times. Keep 6 feet space between yourself and others who are not part of your household. Stay in your household bubble!
• Wear a face covering in public.
• Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently.
• Avoid gatherings of any size with people who are not part of your household.
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Avoid unnecessary travel, and limit your outings to essential tasks.

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION & RESOURCES

Community Resources Portal: https://bit.ly/TCcovidPortal

Tuolumne County Public Health Website: www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov/publichealth

Public Health COVID-19 Call Center: (209) 533-7440

California COVID-19 website: www.covid19.ca.gov

State Testing Site info and Appointments: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Tuolumne County Business: www.tcdisasterassistance.com

CDC COVID-19 website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Thank you for your support and efforts to protect the safety and health of our community