Officials: 27 virus deaths reported since Dec. 31

Nearly 2.700 new cases reported, hospitalizations fall after holiday spike

SALINAS >> Monterey County health officials have reported the death of 27 locals with COVID-19 and 2,662 new confirmed cases over the past week.

County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said during a county briefing Wednesday the county’s case rate is “extremely high,” although he also warned the data is in flux and difficult to acquire on a regular basis because the state has decided to handle data in “batches” and has conducted system updates that occasionally makes data unavailable so there’s no way to tell when the deaths and case confirmations actually occurred.

In a report issued Wednesday morning, the number of local deaths blamed on the virus rose to 220 from 193 reported on Dec. 31, and local cases increased to 30,521 from 27,859 a week ago. During the same time period, reported local hospitalizations dropped to 190 from a high of 204 on Sunday.

The marked increase in local deaths and cases with the virus comes as local hospitalizations and ICU bed capacity are improving after a Christmas holiday spike, but the larger Bay Area region’s ICU bed capacity remains well below state limits under the regional order. The Bay Area is at about half the minimum 15% ICU bed capacity, while county hospitals currently have an 18% ICU bed capacity, according to county health data.

Moreno said he expects the state to conduct a fourweek ICU bed projection for all regions including the Bay Area, to which the county has been assigned, and could announce by the end of the week whether it will lift or extend the orders based on the projections. He said the state could choose to extend the order indefinitely and perhaps tie its expiration to ICU bed capacity.

Natividad CEO Dr. Gary Gray told the Board of Super v isors Tuesday the county- owned hospital “experienced a significant increase” in patients over the Christmas holidays. That led to a record 160 patients in the hospital at one point, adding that Natividad is now at 140 patients including 65 with COVID-19.

That may have prompted a protest from nurses, who told the county board Tuesday they had been reassigned with little notice and a lack of adequate safety protections to care for patients outside their area of expertise. They called it a dangerous and illegal move, even going so far as to accuse hospital administrators of intentionally understaffing the hospital.

In reference to the stayat-home order and resulting restrictions, local hospitality industry representative Janine Chiccourat, the new chairwoman of the Monterey County Hospitality Association, told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the industry was already projecting a $1.5 billion loss for 2020 due to the pandemic-related shutdown. She noted a trio of lawsuits backed by the California Restaurant Association challenging the regional stay-at-home orders’ prohibition on outdoor dining by arguing there’s no proof that eating outside leads to increased spread of the virus. Chicourrat said hospitality representatives are urging the state to get “creative” by allowing outdoor “picnicking” with the use of socially distant tables and chairs.

Meanwhile, Moreno repor ted the county has been allocated 17,075 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 5,850 first doses and 2,925 second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and 8,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and Natividad have each received 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 1,400 doses of the Moderna vaccine, while Mee Memorial Hospital has received 500 doses of the Modern vaccine. The rest has been distributed to Doctors of Duty, county clinics, Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, and the Big Sur Health Clinic.

According to a COVID-19 vaccination schedule, which has now been posted on the county health website, albeit without a timeline, the first to get vaccinated include acute care, psychiatric and correctional facility hospital and other health care personnel including paramedics, EMTs and others providing emergency medical services, as well as long term care facility residents and personnel, including substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities, and dialysis centers.

Subsequent rounds of vaccination will be made available to primary care clinics, intermediate care facilities, home health care and in-home supportive services, public health field staff, and community health workers — also known as promotoras, operating under the county’s pilot public outreach program for the poorest and hardest hit areas, specialty clinics, laboratory workers, dental and other health clinics, and pharmacy staff.

Later, residents 75 and older and frontline essential workers in education and child care, emergency services, and food and agriculture, then residents 65 and older, residents 16 and older with high-risk medical conditions, those incarcerated or homeless, and other essential workers will all have access to vaccinations. The general public will then be in line for the vaccine.

Hospitals are handling their own vaccinations, prompting some complaints that administrators and other personnel with no patient contact were being vaccinated ahead of medical personnel who work directly with patients including those with COVID-19. Point of distribution clinics are already in use. Walgreens and CVS pharmacies will also be administering vaccine to long term care facilities.

Moreno said local industries and businesses can also help distribute the vaccine to employees.

While there is no timeline for distributing the vaccine, Moreno said Tuesday the county plans to get the word out about vaccine availability for specific groups to medical providers, employers and the public as the county moves through the various priority tiers through a series of health advisories, web page postings, media briefings and releases.

C ou nt y Admi n is t r a - tive Officer Charles McKee Tuesday warned against providing too specific a timeline for vaccinations, arguing it would unfairly “raise expectations” and calling it a “very challenging situation.”

Moreno also acknowledged Tuesday that local state-backed OptumServe testing sites were closed at times during the holidays, leaving some with appointments without access to testing services. He blamed that on test site staff calling in sick including due to contracting COVID-19. He said the county is in touch with state officials on the issue.