Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory staff member Alyssa McCloud catalogs incoming tests
In a draft of a rare joint statement, the Rural Association of Northern California Health Officers likens the current state of COVID-19 to a wildfire engulfing the entire region and urges residents to redouble efforts to curb the virus spread, warning if they wait for further state restrictions it may be too late.
While the statement is reportedly still being finalized, Del Norte Health Officer Warren Rehwaldt included its draft in a Dec. 18 letter to county residents.
The Northern California region remains the only in California not subject to the stay-at-home order issued by the state for regions where cumulative hospital intensive care capacity falls below 15 percent. As of Dec. 22, the 11 counties in Northern California have a combined 29.5 percent available ICU capacity, according to the state, despite escalating case counts but the health officers warn the region has a limited numbe
Jessica Cejnar / Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 @ 4:49 p.m. / COVID-19, Health
(Updated) Public Health Couriers Fetch Del Norte s First COVID-19 Vaccine Doses From Humboldt, Distributes Them To Hospital, Skilled Nursing Staff
Del Norte’s first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine trickled into the county and was distributed to the local hospital and skilled nursing facility Monday.
But because the Pfizer vaccine has to be stored at extremely cold temperatures, Public Health Officer Dr. Warren Rehwaldt and other Public Health Branch staff had to go to Humboldt County to fetch the first portion of the county’s allocation.
To make good use of the doses it has, the Public Health Branch delivered the vaccine to a few other key people “further down the list,” in addition to staff at Sutter Coast Hospital and Lantern Health Crescent City, Rehwaldt told the
Rural Health Officers Gravely Concerned Over ICU Capacity mynspr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mynspr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Available Regional ICU Capacity: 21.0%
Released from Isolation to Date: 6,511
Negative Tests Thursday: 930
Total Tests: 105,900
CURRENT SITUATION
• We had 121 cases on Thursday, including 58 men, 62 women and 1 person of unknown age and gender:
8 children under age 13
9 teenagers
17 people in their 30s
13 people in their 40s
29 people in their 50s
10 people in their 60s
15 people in their 70s
3 people in their 80s
0 people over age 89
• We are sorry to have to report a death today. The patient was a man in his 60s.
• Our beautiful region is no stranger to emergency situations. In years past, the resilient people of Northern California have worked together to survive disasters as a strong, united community. When wildfires plagued us, we became all too familiar with prevention and response practices, including defensible space, sheltering safely, mitigating poor air quality and using resources wisely. These same terms apply to our current emergency, COVID-19. Th
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Northern California Region continues to be the only one in California not under a regional stay home order due to COVID-19, but health officials are urging community members to continue to use caution to protect against the virus’ winter surge.
The Northern California Region includes Lake and Mendocino counties and others going North to the Oregon border, an area with unique needs and resources.
In a joint statement from the Rural Association of Northern California Health Officers, or RANCHO, about the current situation, the group called COVID-19 “a North State wildfire by another name.”
The RANCHO statement explained, “The North State is in a state of emergency. COVID-19 cases are rising, hospitalizations are reaching record highs and new deaths are reported daily. We need to respond quickly to protect our community from this growing, devastating threat.