2 Deaths, 138 New Covid Cases In Tuolumne County

calculated using data from Thu May 19 2022 - Wed May 25 2022

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Tuolumne County Public Health reports the deaths of two women in their 80s are confirmed as Covid-related deaths occurring in the month of May. One was from the skilled nursing outbreak detailed here and one died at home according to Public Health Officer, Dr. Kimberly Freeman. The two deaths bring the total number of Tuolumne County Covid deaths to 183.

There are 133 new community cases and five Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) inmate cases, and two hospitalizations from Saturday, May 21st to today Friday, May 27th. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports 8 active cases at SCC. There are 133 active community cases up from 126 last week. Last week, including Saturday and Sunday there were 133 new community cases.

Public Health Officials state those who are eligible should receive a second booster and children age 5 to 11 are now booster-eligible. Details about boosters are here. Health officials also share, “As we continue to see an increased number of cases, we strongly recommend the community to remain vigilant and continue practicing preventive measures such as getting vaccinated & boosted, washing hands frequently, wearing a mask in high-risk settings, physical distancing, and staying home when not feeling well.”

The newly reported community cases this week include 12 cases age 17 and younger and 50 cases age 60 or older. The new Covid cases demographics: three girls and three boys age 0 to 11, three girls and three boys age 12 to 17, nine women and four men age 18 to 29, 16 women and nine men in their 30s, 15 women and six men in their 40s, ten women and one man in their 50s, 19 women and six men in their 60s, 12 women and five men in their 70s, three women, four men, and one other in their 80s, and one woman age 90 or older.

The total current case rate, a 14-day average for Tuolumne County increased to 30.2 from 25.7 per 100,000 population. A total of 123 more are counted as released from isolation, in all 11,053 have been released from isolation. The 7-day test positivity rate is 7.4% up from 6.1%.

CDC Covid tracker map reports Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties are in the medium (yellow) community Covid level (of a three-tier system) Calaveras, Stanislaus and 71% of U.S. counties remain in the lowest green tier. The level is determined by the higher of new hospital admissions and inpatient beds metrics, based on the current level of new cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days. There are 250 high (orange) level counties in the U.S., down from a peak last week of 297 counties. There are no orange-level counties in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, or Arizona (see images). When evaluating just community transmission level, most California counties are in the highest (red) community transmission level.

CDPH has updated the Safe Schools for All toolkit to include checklists for school event planners and attendees to help students, staff, and families reduce COVID-19 risk during graduation season. For the checklist for graduation event attendees, and event planners visit the Safe Schools for All toolkit here.

Calaveras Public Health updates weekly on Tuesdays. They report 55 new cases from May 18th to May 24th. That number is up from 29 new cases among residents the week before. They reported 15 active cases, last week there were 15 active cases. There is one active Covid hospitalization to report.

Mariposa Public Health reports 135 new cases, (Saturday through Thursday). There are 46 active cases up from 39 active cases last week and no residents are hospitalized with Covid.

Mariposa County reports 671 cases in fully vaccinated individuals since April 2021 out of a total of 2,837 cases reported since that time.

COVID-19 Testing If you test positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 – Isolation instructions (click here) Many Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Antigen tests have received an expiration date extension from the FDA. If you have tests, check the dates and for their new expiration date. Expiration date extension for over-the-counter test kits: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests.

The hours of the Mother Lode testing site are: Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Antigen tests are by appointment and PCR tests are by walk-in only.

The State testing site at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds is expected to implement Test to Treat operations by the end of May. Through the program, people are able to get tested and if they are positive, and treatments are appropriate for them, they can receive a prescription from a provider and have the prescription filled all at one location. Information on the Test to Treat program can be found here: https://aspr.hhs.gov/TestToTreat/Pages/default.aspx

To make an appointment for testing at the testing site visit: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

COVID-19 Vaccine Individuals may receive a second booster dose at least four months after their first booster dose if they are age 12 years and older and moderately or severely immunocompromised, or 50 years and older. Another booster is also recommended for those age 18-49 years if they received the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine as both their primary series dose and booster dose. More information can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html. Appointments in Tuolumne and Calaveras can be made through myturn.ca.gov or by calling 833-422-4255 or through local pharmacies, more details are here.