Encouraging COVID-19 Developments In Tuolumne County

Tuolumne Public Health Department photo

Sonora, CA — Health officials provided an update this morning on the local impacts of COVID-19.

At the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting Health and Human Services Director Rebecca Espino stated, “On February 2nd we reported that the community had received 5,000 doses of vaccine, and today I’m excited to report that the healthcare partners in Tuolumne County have distributed almost 10,000 doses.”

The health department will distribute an additional 400 doses today and 800 on Thursday. Other healthcare providers and pharmacies are also actively distributing the vaccine.  Espino says it is “great news,” and “hopefully pretty soon” the county will be able to move from the most restrictive purple tier to the lesser severe red tier.

Stressing the importance of the vaccine, Interim Health Officer, Dr. Eric Sergienko added, “Things are getting better, but we are still racing against variants that are out there, and I think that is worth being mindful of.”

He notes that there have still been 206 new cases over the past two weeks, 26 remain active, and there have unfortunately been three deaths.

That said, Tuolumne County is “coming down” from the holiday surge and seeing many more hospital and ICU beds re-open.

Adventist Health Sonora Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alexander Heard added that only two COVID-19 patients are currently being cared for at the hospital and they are scheduling other medical appointments and procedures.

“I would say to the community, we are open for business,” stressed Dr. Heard. “So, if you are having any health condition please reach out to your providers and we’ll get you scheduled.”

It was also noted that 68,000 COVID tests have been administered locally since the start of the pandemic. Testing is still available at the fairgrounds, in Groveland, Tuolumne and through various healthcare providers.