COVID-19 Report, Mandatory Youth Activity Rules In Calaveras

Tuolumne COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic

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Tuolumne Public Health reports 28 new COVID-19 cases since yesterday and 233 active cases. The Tuolumne County Public Health Department is offering COVID-19 vaccination clinic Monday, Wednesday and Friday as seen in the image. A total of 27 of the new cases are community cases and one is a Sierra Conservation inmate case. Since last week there have been 208 new cases and two Covid related deaths. There are 8 who are hospitalized down from numbers that have been in the teens for several weeks. The total current case rate, a 14-day average for Tuolumne County is up to 49.1 up from 47.9 per 100,000 population Wednesday.

Today’s newly reported cases include 5 cases age 17 or under and 5 cases age 60 and older. The gender and age breakdown is; 1 girl and 3 boys age 0-11, 1 girl and 1 boy age 12-17, 3 men age 18-29, 4 women and 3 men age 30-39, 1 woman and 1 man age 40 to 49, 4 women age 50-59, 1 woman and 1 man age 60 -69, 2 men age 80 to 89 and 1 woman age 90 or older.

Of the 27 new community cases, 22 were unvaccinated, and 5 were vaccinated. There was one new Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) inmate case, the California Department of Corrections reports 27 active inmate cases, the 2nd most at one correctional facility in the state.

Calaveras County Public Health reports 58 new Covid cases since yesterday and 58 active cases including 4 Covid hospitalizations. There are 8 new cases age 0-17 and 3 new cases in individuals age 65 years old or older. Since the pandemic began Calaveras has had 437 Covid-19 positive people who are 17 and under and 562 Covid-19 positive people 65 and over.

Youth Activity COVID-19 Guidelines Updated to Mandatory Order On August 23, the Calaveras County Health Officer issued voluntary guidance for youth sports and other extracurricular youth activities in hopes that any risk of COVID19 infections would be avoided. Since the guidance was issued, COVID-19 has surged, more COVID-19 patients have required hospital care, and the County’s only hospital, Mark Twain Medical Center recently reported that they were nearing capacity.

According to Calaveras Public Health Calaveras County is also seeing a concerning uptick in cases among children under the age of eighteen. Local public health officials are also worried about serious infections, hospitalizations, and deaths involving children becoming increasingly common both statewide and nationwide.

“We have seen a dramatic rise in Calaveras County students being quarantined or in isolation because they tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to someone who was,” said Dr. René Ramirez, Calaveras County Health Officer. “The county’s low vaccination rate coupled with mask refusal leaves Calaveras children more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. This order outlines what schools must adhere to so that we prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in our schools and communities and to avoid cancellation of sports altogether,” added Dr. Ramirez.

The order was done in collaboration with the Calaveras County Superintendent of Schools and other school partners. The order goes into effect starting Monday, September 13, and will remain in effect until it is rescinded. Adherence to the order applies to all extracurricular and organized youth activities that occur before or after school, on school campuses or in the community, public or private.

Details are in the Health Officer Order here.

COVID-19 Testing Public Health officials say, “As a reminder, the symptoms of COVID-19 can sometimes be dismissed as allergies, a cold, wildfire smoke irritation, indigestion, etc. If you are experiencing any new or worsening symptoms, even if it’s only one of the symptoms, please get tested right away and avoid close contact with others while waiting for your results. Symptoms can include fever or chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, cough, fatigue, headache, muscle or body aches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. If you have more serious symptoms such as pain or pressure in your chest, trouble breathing, bluish lips or face, sudden confusion, having a hard time staying awake, dizziness, contact your healthcare provider or urgent care.”

If you believe you have been exposed to COVID, schedule an appointment to get tested 5 days after exposure. If you are having any symptoms, please get tested right away. The State testing site is open 7 days a week beginning from 7 AM to 7 PM at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds. Appointments should be made rather than walking in. Appointments can be scheduled at www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 888-634-1123. Testing is also available through, some pharmacies, at Rapid Care or the hospital emergency department if you are experiencing any symptoms, or contact your healthcare provider.

COVID-19 Vaccines Vaccine appointments can be made at local pharmacies and through myturn.ca.gov or by calling 833-422-4255. Anyone 12 and older is eligible for a COVID vaccine, Pfizer is approved for anyone age 12 or over. As detailed here healthcare workers are required to be vaccinated by September 30. The Pfizer vaccine requires 3 weeks between doses and the Moderna requires 4 weeks. The J&J vaccine requires only one dose. Call or email with any questions you may have Tuolumne is available at (209) 533-7440 Health@tuolumnecounty.ca.gov, Mariposa at (209) 259-1332 or mariposacovid19@gmail.com more numbers are available on our COVID-19 page here.

Public Health continues to strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated, as the most important step to reduce the spread of disease and prevent serious illness and death, as well as to reduce the impact on the healthcare system. In addition, the continued practice of other preventive actions like wearing a mask in public, keeping your distance, avoiding crowds, washing hands, and staying home when sick will help slow the spread of the virus.

Health Officials detail, “Choosing to help the Public Health Department slow the spread of COVID-19 helps protect you, your family, and your community. We all need to work together to slow the spread of COVID-19. We strongly encourage everyone to be part of the solution and answer the phone—it may be the health department calling to let you know your test result came back positive for COVID-19, or that you have been in close contact with someone who has it.” For more information on contact tracing click here, for isolation and quarantine information go here.