Covid Weekly Report: 4 Covid Deaths, Cases Decreasing

Tuolumne and Calaveras Public Health

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Tuolumne County Public Health reports for Saturday, March 12th to Friday, March 18th there is one newly confirmed Covid death, a man in his 60s. The Public Health team sends its condolences to their families and friends. There are 78 new community cases and 13 Sierra Conservation Center cases. Public health officials note, “59 of the new community and 7 of the SCC inmate cases being reported are reinfections from prior dates which often take longer to identify, investigate, and report. Therefore, while they are included in our total case count, they may not be reflected in the current 14-day case rate which is currently 5.9.”

One person was hospitalized with Covid this week. There are 15 active community cases and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports six currently active inmate cases. Last week, including Saturday and Sunday there were a total of 88 new community cases (66 reinfections from prior dates), 136 new Sierra Conservation Center Inmate Cases (133 reinfections from prior dates), and four reported deaths.

The newly reported community cases this week include 17 cases age 17 or younger and eight cases age 60 or older. The new Covid cases demographics: three girls and four boys age 11 or younger, six girls and four boys age 12 to 17, 12 women and five men age 18 to 29, 11 women and three men in their 30s, 11 women and five men in their 40s, two women and four men in their 50s, two women in their 60s, two women and two men in their 70s, and one woman and one man in their 80s.

The total current case rate, a 14-day average for Tuolumne County as mentioned above decreased to 5.9 from 8.5 per 100,000 population. A total of 104 more are counted as released from isolation, a total of 10,598 have been released from isolation. The 7-day test positivity rate is 1.9% down from 3.3% and 62% of the population eligible to get vaccinated has been vaccinated.

Tuolumne County has been moved to the less severe “medium” (yellow) level, surrounding counties are in the green level as seen in the images and masks are recommended but no longer required in classrooms as detailed here.

There are positive actions we can take to protect ourselves and those around us from illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19: Get Vaccinated (including a booster), wear a mask in public, keep your distance and avoid crowds when possible, wash hands and clean surfaces frequently, and stay home when sick.

Calaveras County Public Health is doing daily reports and this week reported three deaths due to Covid on Tuesday, a woman in her 70s, a woman in her 80s, and a woman in her 90s.

This week there are 18 new cases from Saturday including three new cases today. Active cases increased to seven from six yesterday with no current Covid hospitalizations. There are 22 more counted as recovered for a total of 7,116 and 57.46% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated in the county. The vaccination rate is below the rest of the State of California which is 74.1%. Last week there were 35 new cases.

Mariposa Public Health is doing daily reports and has not reported any new Covid deaths. They reported 14 new cases this week (Saturday through Friday). There are seven active cases and one resident hospitalized with Covid.

COVID-19 Testing schedule an appointment at the LHI State Covid testing site at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds by going to www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 888-634-1123.

COVID-19 Vaccine The CDC recommends people receive a booster shot if they completed a Pfizer series at least five months ago, the Moderna series at least six months ago, or a J&J vaccine at least two months ago. Vaccine appointments can be made through myturn.ca.gov by calling 833-422-4255 or through local pharmacies, more details are here. California is moving to an “endemic” approach with the “SMARTER Plan” as detailed here.