Tuolumne County advises against gatherings
2020 reared its ugly head Friday afternoon as the Tuolumne County Public Health Department recommended postponing any gatherings amid the latest wave of COVID-19.
The department also “strongly recommended” that any gatherings of more than 50 be postponed until the spike in cases subsides.
“The larger the gathering, the greater the risk that someone in the group will be transmitting the virus,” the department said.
If it’s not possible to postpone the gathering, the department recommends taking measures to mitigate the risk that can include requiring attendees to be vaccinated, get tested, wear masks, reduce the size of the event, or move it outdoors.
The Union Democrat decided on Monday to postpone its Home and Garden Show scheduled for Oct. 16 and 17 at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora until April 22 and 23.
There were 40 new cases reported in the county on Friday, which included 16 inmates at Sierra Conservation Center state prison outside of Jamestown.
Four of the 24 “community cases” outside of the prison were vaccinated, bringing the total number of known vaccinated cases to 55. That represented 10.7% of the 514 community cases reported since May 24, when the county began noting the vaccination status of each new case.
The total number of vaccinated cases was also 0.2% of the 23,647 people in the county who are fully vaccinated.
About 43.5% of the county’s total population was fully vaccinated as of Friday, which includes children under 12 who currently aren’t authorized to receive any of the available vaccines.
Friday’s community cases were identified as two girls under 12, one girl between 12 and 17, five girls between 18 and 29, two women and five men in their 30s, three women and one man in their 40s, one woman and one man in their 50s, and two women and one man in their 60s.
There were also 18 people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Friday, while the county Public Health Department was monitoring 285 active cases.
The county’s average daily case rate per 100,000 over the previous two weeks was 43.3, up from 0.5 when California lifted most remaining coronavirus restrictions.
County public health officials asked people on Friday to self-isolate at home if they test positive for the virus, and a team from the department will reach out to them as soon as possible for further instructions.