Confirmed cases: 15 as of Monday

Healthcare facilities working on surge capacity planning

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Yuba-sutter area increased by four since Sunday, with 15 cases as of Monday afternoon – six in Yuba County and nine in Sutter County

Health experts anticipate that number to continue increasing as more tests are completed.

“The increase in confirmed cases isn’t a surprise – with the lag in testing results, our public health teams have been expecting numbers to fluctuate day by day,” said Bi-county Health Officer Dr. Phuong Luu.

Three locations opened up in the area within the last several weeks where Yuba-sutter residents can go to get screened and tested, if found to meet certain criteria. However, due to the lack of available testing kits nationwide, health professionals have had to rely more heavily on screening to triage the most inneed.

“The public wants all 173,000 people in Yuba-sutter to be tested, but that is just not realistic and would put healthcare workers at risk,” Luu said. “Screening remains vital in protecting healthcare staff, especially since the directive to isolate at home for those with mild symptoms would not change even with a confirmed result. This is why

staying at home as much as possible is so important – keeping yourself and others from getting sick in the first place is the measure right now.”

Luu said a rapid test by the diagnostics company Cepheid was approved by the FDA for use primarily in hospitals and emergency rooms, which would produce results within hours rather than days, but Adventist facilities on the West Coast have not received the cartridges necessary for the test. She also said her team has been receiving questions about the possibility of at-home tests: it’s important to stress those types of tests have not been vetted or approved by the FDA, which has released warnings about fraudulent products that could pose a serious health risk.

A total of 348 tests have been administered in the area, with 215 results completed and 133 tests still pending, as of Monday afternoon.

Surge preparation

Adventist

Health/rideout

announced it was preparing a plan in the event the hospital’s emergency room sees a surge of patients due to the coronavirus. As part of the plan, the emergency department was split into two areas – one for patients with respiratory conditions and one for patients without respiratory conditions. The respiratory area was converted to a negative pressure air flow environment, which is suited for people with

respiratory illnesses.

“Adventist Health and Rideout has been surge planning based on CDC guidance for weeks now; working to be prepared in the case of a local surge in the need for medical care,” Luu said.

Ventilators are required to help treat some COVID-19 patients due to the virus attacking the respiratory system. However, like the testing kits, there’s

a ventilator shortage across the country.

“Adventist/rideout, in collaboration with the Bi-county (Department Operations Center)/ (Emergency Operations Center) and other health care facilities, are actively working on surge capacity planning, including determining the number of adequate ventilators projected to be needed in a surge,” Luu said.

Luu said it’s important that

those who have mild symptoms of COVID-19 remain at home instead of going to the emergency room to not overload available resources. Even if the person was to test positive, if they were experiencing mild symptoms, the directive would be to isolate at home, hydrate and rest. Only those with severe symptoms, like shortness of breath, would receive supportive care in a hospital.