55 New COVID-19 Cases Identified Thursday In Tuolumne County

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Sonora, CA – Tuolumne Public Health reports 55 new COVID-19 Cases are currently being investigated by the Public Health team. The cases include one male and seven females under the age of 20, three males and ten females in their 20s, five males and six females in their 30s, three males and three females in their 40s, five males and three females in their 50s, three males and four females in their 60s, and zero males and two females in their 70s. As of this report, all new cases appear to be isolating and none are hospitalized.

Sonora Union High School District Superintendent Ed Pelfrey sent a notice today stating a student who was last at the school on a Green Cohort day, November 5th, has tested positive for COVID-19. Previously a student and staff member last at the school on a Gold Cohort day, November 3rd, tested positive and two other staff members, who do not have much contact with students, also tested positive. Superintendent Pelfrey confirms, with half the students on campus at a time there is enough room for everyone to keep six feet apart at all of the District’s sites and the schools will continue to remain open for in-person learning under Public Health guidance. All local schools have plans in place to assist Public Health in quickly contacting those who may have been exposed and to sanitize and clean the school.

According to Tuolumne Public Health cases in the past two days include a combination of those who were previously identified contacts, individuals who are part of known clusters, including household clusters, and those for whom we cannot identify the source of infection and are unknown to current investigations. This suggests an uptick in community transmission. We would like to remind the public of the importance of following COVID safety precautions to help slow the spread of the virus. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Avoid close contact. Stay home if you aren’t feeling well. We can each do our part to reduce illness, and help keep our schools and businesses open.

With Thanksgiving coming up in two weeks, many people may be wondering how they can plan for a safe holiday season. It’s important to remember that even small household gatherings are an important contributor to the rise in COVID-19 cases. If families have not done so already, they are encouraged to take steps to limit contact with those outside of their household bubble, limit travel to reduce exposure to the virus, and have a safe holiday. The CDC has released guidelines here https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html

Tuolumne Public Health notes the county can expect to move to the Red Tier level next week on Tuesday, November 17. Businesses are allowed three additional days, until November 20, to make modifications and remain in compliance.

Public Health is working with the Tuolumne County Innovation and Business Assistance Department to provide technical assistance to businesses that may be affected by the tier change. More COVID-19 information is here, the Blueprint “Dimmer Framework” which provides an overview of what changes in the different tiers is in this pdf file here.

Known Tuolumne tests: 14,012, total positive 443, active cases 133, total recovered 287, hospitalized 2. A total of 15 inmates, 14 who have recovered included in Tuolumne County’s number of positive cases.

The new State testing site is seeing a large turnout, so while some walk-ins may be accepted, pre-registration is strongly encouraged to ensure that you can get tested when you arrive. The turnaround time for results has reportedly been longer than expected, sometimes over a week. A delay was expected as the State sites transitioned to a new lab and there is also likely an impact to the labs due to increased demand for testing. The State testing task force and will provide updates on expected improvement in testing turnaround times as we learn more.

Appointments for COVID-19 tests are available between 7 AM and 7 PM Tuesday through Saturday at the state testing site at the Motherlode Fairgrounds. Make your appointment at www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling (888) 634-1123. The Sonora State testing site is seeing a large turnout, so pre-registration is strongly encouraged to ensure that you can get tested when you arrive.

Tier 1: Minimal
County/Date	Active	New Cases (Total)	Hospital/ ICU	New (Total Recovered)	Deaths
Alpine 11/12	13	4(30)	1	3 (17)	0
Calaveras 11/10	12	7(373)	0	8 (340)	21
Mariposa 11/12	6	0(88)	3	0 (80)	2
Indoor Offices, All Retail & Shopping Centers, Hair Salons & Barbers, Personal Care Services, Museums, Hotels & Lodging		Bars, Breweries, Wineries, Restaurants, Cardrooms, Places Of Worship, Gyms At 50% capacity details here.		Outdoor Playgrounds, outdoor recreation, Sports without live audiences
Tier 2: Moderate
County/Date	Active	New Cases (Total)	Hospital/ ICU	New (Total Recovered)	Deaths
Mono 11/12	114	5 (351)	NA	59 (235)	2
Tuolumne 11/12	133	55 (443)	2	4 (287)	8
Outdoor Only Bars, Breweries, and Distilleries (where no meal provided)		Museums, Restaurants, Places Of Worship At 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer.		Wineries, Gyms & Fitness Centers, Cardrooms Must be at 25% capacity, or 100 people whichever is fewer
Open Indoors Personal Care Services, Hair Salons, & Barbers
Tier 3: Substantial
County/Date	Active	New Cases (Total)	Hospital/ ICU	New (Total Recovered)	Deaths
Amador 11/12	33	8 (361)	4	7 (313)	15
Merced 11/12	690	120 (10,313)	39	49 (9,457)	166
San Joaquin 11/12	1,111	231 (23,224)	62/15	160 (21,613)	500
Stanislaus 11/12	691	141 (18,852)	64/18	62 (17,751)	410
All Retail, Malls Common areas must be closed, 25% capacity		Museums, Restaurants, Places Of Worship At 25% capacity or 100 people, depending on which is fewer.		Gyms & Fitness Centers Must be at 10% capacity
Open Indoors Personal Care Services, Hair Salons, & Barbers With Modifications
Not Permitted:
BARS, WINERIES, BREWERIES, ETC. Not allowed unless meals are offered, Wineries outdoor only with modifications Cardrooms outdoor only w/ mod. Offices Remote
Tier 4: Widespread
County	Active	New Cases (Total)	Hospital/ ICU	New (Total Recovered)	Deaths
Madera 11/12	400	18(5,361)	8	48 (4,885)	76
25% Capacity All Retail except standalone grocers, Malls (Common areas & food courts closed)		Outdoor Only Restaurants, Museums, Places Of Worship, Gyms & Fitness Centers		All Levels- Critical/essential Infrastructure always open with modifications.
Personal Care Services, Hair Salons, & Barbers Open With Modifications
Not Permitted:
BARS, WINERIES, BREWERIES, ETC. Amusement Parks, Not allowed unless meals are offered, Wineries and cardrooms outdoor only with modifications, Offices Remote

For county population and other county-level statistics view our page here.

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.

During emergencies Public Health will turn to DHV (Disaster Healthcare Volunteers) for the COVID-19 response, volunteers may be needed in the event Public Health needs to activate an Alternate Care Site, Family Assistance Center, or Responder Respite Center. Details on how to sign up were released here.

People are encouraged to get tested right away if they have symptoms of COVID-19, five days after travel or close contact with others outside of your household, and test routinely if you work in high-risk settings such as healthcare, corrections or congregate care facilities or if you have frequent interactions with the public through work or other community engagement.

Quarantine is for individuals who have had contact with a COVID-19 positive individual and are waiting for test results or for anyone with symptoms waiting for test results. In general quarantine lasts 14 days if there are no symptoms and a negative test. Isolation is for COVID-19 positive individuals, with or without symptoms, to prevent spreading the infection. If you are advised to isolate or quarantine, it is important to stay at home and separate yourself from others, including household members as much as possible.

It is important to 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.

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