6 more Covid-19 cases in county
Worst week yet as 14 new cases reported in 3 days
The Mendocino County Public Health Office announced Wednesday that six new cases of Covid-19 have been identified, bringing the county’s total to 53.
Fourteen new cases have been reported in three days — six on Monday, two on Tuesday and six on Wednesday — and Public Health Officer Noemi Doohan said that eight of the most recent cases have been traced back to parties held in the Ukiah area to celebrate either graduations or the end of the school year. All of the last 14 patients have been Ukiah Valley residents.
Doohan also noted that four of the cases announced Wednesday were teenagers, and that the county is “experiencing a spike in cases in people under 35,” an age group now responsible for 43 percent of the county’s cases. She also notes that “the case that was recently in the Intensive Care Unit was between the ages of 19 and 35.”
Also, four of the most recent cases have reportedly been connected to “in-person church services” held in in the Ukiah area.
In response to these string of cases, the Public Health Office hosted free testing at 1120 S. Dora St. Thursday and asked anyone who has been “notified that you have been exposed to Covid-19, or have been to a graduation/end of school year gathering or in-person church service in the Ukiah area in the past 10 days, please stop by and get tested.”
Doohan urged all residents, “including teens and young adults, to avoid the three C’s: Confined spaces, crowds and gatherings, and close contact.” In order to “help our community stay safe, slow the spread of Covid-19 and continue reopening, everyone should avoid: “confined spaces, especially with poor ventilation — outdoors is better than indoors; crowds and gatherings — the more people the higher the risk; and close contact — staying further apart is safer than being close together.”
She also urged every resident to “wash their hands often, wear a cloth face covering around others, avoid touching your face, avoid sharing food, drinks, toys, sports equipment; keep interactions with others outside of your home or social bubble short and give yourself (six feet of space) from others.”
Doohan also offered a reminder to parents that “Mendocino County and the cities of Fort Bragg and Ukiah have Social Host Ordinances which state parents or guardians are responsible for parties at their homes even if the parents/guardians are absent during the event, (and that) parents/guardians are liable for what transpires at the party in their absence.”
She also recommends that anyone who has “recently been to a large gathering, in-person church service or a demonstration to schedule an appointment for surveillance testing at Optumserve in Ukiah. To make an appointment, go online to lhi.care/covidtesting or call 888-634-1123. (If calling from a phone with an area code other than 707, call 1-888-634-1123.) The testing is done at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds in Ukiah from Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
However, Optumserve is for those without symptoms. Those with symptoms, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, are advised to contact their healthcare provider or local hospital for testing.