Tuolumne County advises against the rally as the ICU bed fills with COVID-19 patients.news

Five of the 73 new cases were inmates in the Sierra Conservation Center State Prison on the outskirts of Jamestown. There were also 40 new cases reported on Friday, 16 of which were SCC prisoners.

The County Public Health Service also announced on Friday that it would recommend postponing the rally until further notice in response to the increasing number of cases seen in recent weeks.

A gathering of more than 50 people was also “strongly” discouraged by the department.

“The bigger the rally, the higher the risk of someone in the group getting the virus,” the agency said.

In response to the new recommendation, the Union Democratic Party announced on Monday that it would postpone the Home and Garden Show scheduled for October 16th and 17th at Sonora’s Mother Road Fairgrounds until April 22nd and 23rd.

For events that cannot be postponed, it is recommended that participants take steps to reduce the risk of the spread of the deadly virus, such as vaccination, testing, wearing masks and, if possible, moving outdoors.

Increasing cases are primarily due to a combination of relaxation and mitigation measures, less than half of the county’s population being vaccinated, and the rapid spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19. doing.

The county’s previous eight positive cases were all confirmed to be delta variants on Monday, the county public health service announced.

Samples of a positive COVID-19 test are sent regularly from the county to state laboratories for what is called genomic sequencing, which can determine the type of virus strain. Results can take up to 3 weeks or more, and the county’s previous batch on July 1st showed three cases of delta variants.

According to a recent internal report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the delta mutant is considered to be as infectious as chickenpox.

People infected with the original strain of COVID-19, called the alpha mutant, were said to infect about two other people with the virus on average. Those with delta variants are said to infect other 8-9 people.

Current vaccines are also less effective against delta mutants, but are said to prevent infections by as much as 88% and severe illness and death by as much as 99%.

Four of the 68 community cases in the county from Saturday to Monday were said to be fully vaccinated, and four of the 24 24 on Friday were also fully vaccinated.

One of the fully vaccinated cases from Saturday to Monday was hospitalized and became the sixth fully vaccinated person to date in need of vaccination.

The six complete vaccinations required for hospitalization represent 0.02% of the total 23,798 county residents reported to have been fully vaccinated by the CDC, but the total of 59 positive cases is It’s only about 0.2%.

Since the county began reporting vaccination status for each new case on May 24, unvaccinated people have seen 523, or nearly 90, of the county’s 582 new cases among community members outside prison. Occupies%.

Unvaccinated people account for about the same proportion of hospitalizations, as do all six deaths reported during the same period.

As of Monday, only about 43.7% of the county’s total population was fully vaccinated. That percentage includes children under the age of 12 who are not currently eligible for vaccination.

Cases of minor children have increased in recent weeks, and some require hospitalization on weekends.

As of Monday, there were 21 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, but no age was reported.

The average daily case rate per 100,000 people in the county over the past two weeks was 48.2 on Monday, rising from 43.3 on Friday to 0.5 on June 15, when the state lifted most of the remaining coronavirus restrictions. did.

If you need to take a test: 5 days after your trip, or close contact with someone outside your family. As soon as possible if symptoms occur; and / or every 14-28 days if working with the general public on a regular basis.

Tests are available below.

• Local health care provider.

• Adventist Health Sonora, first call: (209) 536-5166;

• Tuolumne Veterans Memorial Hall, 18375 Fir Avenue — Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7am to 7pm.Appointments are recommended and can be scheduled at www.lhi.care/covidtesting Or call (888) 634-1123.

• Twain Heart Pharmacy: Call (209) 586-3225 for information and reservations.

• Groveland Pharmacy: Call (209) 962-5211 for information and bookings.