Nearly all of state at ‘low’ ranking for COVID-19 transmission last week
When it comes to the national COVID-19 transmission map, green is good. And not only Kern County but nearly all of California dropped to a low ranking for COVID-19 transmission last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In California, only Imperial and San Diego counties ranked medium and no counties ranked high.
The CDC uses transmission rankings to measure COVID-19 community levels by county throughout the United States.
Indicators for community levels are related to new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, both on a seven-day average. If it’s less than 10 percent, the transmission rate is considered low. But as metrics rise, the level is adjusted, first to medium and then to high. Across the country, the CDC reported that more than 69.47 percent of counties had a low transmission rate with 26.86 percent at medium and only 3.67 percent at high.
LOCAL NUMBERS
The latest data from Kern County Public Health on Jan. 27 showed seven COVID-19 deaths countywide since Jan. 20 and a total of 2,607 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The department does not release death data by community, citing privacy concerns.
The department reported 22 new cases in the 93561 ZIP code since Jan. 20. The total number of cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 is 10,522.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported three active cases among the incarcerated population at the California Correctional Institution on Jan. 27. It also reported one active case among CCI staff as of Jan. 25.
TESTING AND VACCINATIONS
The health department reminds residents they can find testing locations by going to kernpublichealth.com, clicking on the COVID-19 button and looking for “find a testing site near you.”
Current vaccination information is available online at kernpublichealth. com/coronavirus-vaccine. According to the California Department of Public health, COVID-19 vaccinations are now available for children under 5.