One Death, 22 New Cases Reported Today;
Data on Rapid Tests Added to Dashboard
A Humboldt County resident in their 60s has died with COVID-19, marking the 31st death related to the virus in Humboldt County. Public Health and Emergency Operations Center staff share their sympathies with the individual’s friends, family and caregivers.
Health officials advise that regular screening for COVID-19 continues to be a crucial tool to reduce spread in the community. There are two types of tests used to determine if someone is infected with COVID-19—a diagnostic, or polymerase chain reaction (PCR), test that requires laboratory processing, and an antigen test that provides results in 15 minutes. Antigen tests are most reliable when used for people who are experiencing symptoms. Public Health recently began distributing thousands of rapid antigen tests to local health care providers to assist them in quickly determining if someone has contracted the virus, and enough results have been returned to report the data.
Twenty-two new cases were reported today, 10 using a PCR test and 12 based on antigen testing. One previously recorded case was removed due to a lab reporting issue, so a total of 2,836 county residents have tested positive for the virus.
Beginning today and going forward, antigen test results will be reported each weekday. Positive results from both test types will be combined and included in the daily and cumulative case counts. Antigen test results have also been incorporated into two metrics on the Humboldt County Data Dashboard (humboldtgov.org/dashboard)—the Daily Confirmed Case count and the Cumulative Confirmed Case count, which is further broken down by test type. All other information on the dashboard reflects only PCR tests, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Public Health Supporting Provider-Based Vaccine Clinics This Week
Multiple invitation-only COVID-19 vaccination clinics are planned Wednesday through Sunday for approximately 1,450 in-person educators, school support staff working in person, people age 75 and over, health care workers and emergency services workers. Public Health is supporting these clinics in coordination with St. Joseph Health Medical Group, Southern Trinity Health Services and Mad River Community Hospital. Additionally, local providers who are approved vaccinators are reaching out directly to their patients age 75 and over to schedule appointments.
Appointments for first doses will slow through the month of February as thousands of county residents become due for their second dose, while vaccine supply remains limited across the state and country. Public Health officials will work closely with partners and providers to ensure that second doses are administered within 42 days of the first, which is the timeframe recommended by the CDC.
Humboldt County Remains in ‘Purple’ Tier
Today, the California Department of Public Health announced that Humboldt County remains in the “Purple” or widespread tier under the state’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy,” with an adjusted case rate of 22.7 and a positivity rate of 7.4%. To read more about requirements under the purple tier, go to cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/COVID-19/Dimmer-Framework-September_2020.pdf.
For the most recent COVID-19 information, visit cdc.gov or cdph.ca.gov. Local information is available at humboldtgov.org or during business hours by contacting covidinfo@co.humboldt.ca.us or calling 707-441-5000.
Local COVID-19 vaccine information: humboldtgov.org/vaccineinfo
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/dashboard
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
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The Humboldt County Data Dashboard now breaks down confirmed cases by test type. Screenshot of the dashboard taken Feb. 2, 2021.