LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s Public Health officer confirmed the 42nd case of COVID-19 in Lake County on Thursday.
Dr. Gary Pace said that of Lake County’s 42 cases, five are active and none are currently hospitalized.
As of Thursday night, the number of COVID-19 cases statewide had risen to more than 200,000, with more than 5,800 deaths, based on a survey of the state’s 58 county Public Health departments.
Lake County News asked Pace for information on how and where the 41st and 42nd patients contracted the virus. He did not provide the information requested about those two cases.
Instead, the statement he released said that of the eight cases confirmed since last Friday, “Most of the cases have had recent contact with a known case that is presumed to be the source of the infection. Now that there is more movement, the number of contacts is higher.”
He said that Public Health has “generally been able to locate the family and friends who have been in contact with these cases and had them get tested. We have been very fortunate that most of the contacts have been using masks and social distancing, so the community transmission has not been identified.”
Two of the recent cases may have had more community involvement without masks, “so we are concerned about possible spread.” Pace said Public Health is continuing to pursue investigations and testing.
Pace said Lake County’s population-adjusted infection rate is 1:1,609 ratio, which is far lower than many other counties around the region.
However, Pace said large social gatherings – particularly in combination with increased regional travel, congregate living situations and high-traffic and interaction-intensive work settings – are among the situations that carry significant risk.
“While the spread of COVID-19 has been slow in Lake County, to date, this is a highly contagious virus, and those with underlying medical conditions, particularly, may experience severe complications. Clusters of severe cases could quickly stress our local health care system,” Pace said.
Cases, on the whole, are rising in California, which Pace said can be attributed, in part, to increased testing capacity. However, the 14-day “positivity rate” – the percentage of tests conducted that have a positive result – has shown a moderate upward trend.
The California Department of Public Health has indicated this suggests increased community spread, and the reintroduction of many business and social activities over the past month and greater prevalence of large gatherings may inform that analysis, Pace said.
“We are also learning more about activities and work environments that carry increased risk of COVID-19 transmission, and performing targeted testing of relatively high-risk groups,” Pace said.
Despite an upward trend in the past 14 days in documented positive cases, a corresponding 29-percent increase in statewide hospital-based care and an 18-percent increase in suspected cases of COVID-19 treated in intensive care units, Pace said the percentage of COVID-19 positive patients in the state requiring inpatient intensive care has generally trended downward since early April.
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Lake County COVID-19 cases rise to 42
- Elizabeth Larson
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