THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2023 Inyo sees spikes in COVID, flu, RSV cases
Toiyabe requiring face masking
A marked increase in COVID cases has prompted the Toiyabe Indian Health Project to require patients to wear face masks when visiting all Toiyabe buildings and facilities.
The Northern Inyo Hospital Rural Health Clinic also is seeing a surge in COVID and other respiratory illnesses, including the flu and RSV, but is only asking patients to wear a face mask in the clinic or hospital if they have symptoms indicating some sort of respiratory viral illness. That has been the standard procedure at NIH for some time.
In the past three weeks (from Dec. 16, 2023 to Jan. 9, 2024) there have been 189 lab-confirmed cases of COVID, according to the Inyo County Health and Human Services Public Health Division. There were 85 flu infections and 57 RSV cases in the same period, according to HHS.
The data confirms “that there is a significant amount of respiratory illness in our community,” HHS Director Anna Scott, said in an email.
The results do not include at-home tests for COVID or the rapid flu test, added Scott, so total infection rates are likely higher. Increased levels of COVID, flu and RSV infections will probably continue in the coming weeks and could spike higher, Scott noted, since local schools just reopened this week after the winter break.
toiyabe indian Health
Project
In a text sent to
Toiyabe patients on Monday, Jan. 8, obtained by The Inyo Register, the health service states, “Due to the high COVID numbers we are requiring masks at all locations.” Toiyabe offers a wide range of health services in its Bishop offices and clinic, and also in its Lone
Pine clinic. The text also notes patients can call the Medical Department to arrange for COVID tests or testing.
In addition, Toiyabe is
offering at-home COVID tests at its front desk or in the pharmacy, a second text noted. Transportation to clinics can be arranged through the Community Health Department.
The text messages did not indicate when the mask requirement at Toiyabe facilities might be lifted.
The NIH Rural Health Clinic has also seen an increase in increase in Covid and other seasonal illnesses.
NIH Rural Health Clinic
Dr. Adam Hawkins, NIH chief medical officer, stated in an email, “Northern Inyo Healthcare District clinical care teams have been providing care to increased volumes of patients experiencing symptoms consistent with viral respiratory illness. This includes influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID. The volume of patients we are seeing experiencing these symptoms is consistent with our expectations based on the seasonality of these illnesses (influenza and RSV in particular).”
Hawkins added NIH has “ample resources” so the increases in viral cases has not impacted NIH’s ability “to care for all community members, regardless of their medical needs.”
Visitors and patients coming to the Northern Inyo Healthcare District facilities or campus are being asked to “wear a facemask if they are experiencing any symptoms related to a respiratory viral illness.”
The Rural Health
Clinic continues to offer drive-up COVID testing and treatments. The Centers for Disease Control suggests anyone getting a positive result from an at-home COVID test get a more sensitive PCR test, which is processed in a lab.
Regarding any additional mask requirements, Hawkins noted, “as always, NIHD remains in contact with our partners at the Inyo County Health and Human Services Department and will follow their direction regarding any changes they would recommend or require regarding mask ordinances.”
Scott said HHS continues to monitor infection rates, but “while hospital admission rates remain low, Public Health is not issuing specific orders for facilities or the public; rather, we continue to ask the public to follow guidelines to reduce their risk of acquiring respiratory illness.”
The best way to protect against COVID and other respiratory illness, she said, is to follow the guidelines provided by the California
Department of Public Health, at https://www. cdph.ca.gov/Programs/ CID/DCDC/Pages/ Respiratory-Viruses/ Home.aspx.
HHS data
The HHS data for the past three weeks shows a fairly steady rate of infection for all three respiratory illnesses.
For COVID, the weekly data is as follows: From Dec. 16, 2023 to Dec. 22, 2023 = 54; from Dec. 23, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023 = 75; from from Jan. 1, 2024 to Jan. 9, 2024 = 60.
For the flu: from Dec. 16, 2023 to Dec. 22, 2023 = 33; from Dec. 23, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023 = 34; from Jan. 1, 2024 to Jan. 9, 2024 = 18.
For RSV: from Dec. 16, 2023 to Dec. 22, 2023 = 23; from from Dec. 23, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023 = 19; from from Jan. 1, 2024 to Jan. 9, 2024 = 15.
Scott noted the data might appear to show trends, but it is an “incomplete picture” due to the lack of home COVID tests and rapid flu tests.
“With this brief window into the positivity rate, it may be true that there is a peak, plateau and decline indicated, but the kids just went back to school this week, so it is likely we will see another spike over the next two weeks,” Scott said.
The latest Covid vaccine/booster is available at the Rural Health Clinic, Toiyabe, Inyo County Health Division, Southern Inyo Hospital, Valley Health Team and at local pharmacies.
State and nation Across the state, COVID cases are increasing but are about half as high as they were last winter. According to the Centers for Disease Control, California recorded 3,516 new coronavirus-positive hospital admissions for the week that ended Dec. 30, a 7% increase from the previous week. The state’s peak last winter was 5,260 new hospital admissions for the final week of 2022. There has also been a notable increase in the number of seasonal flu cases reported across the state.
On Jan. 5 seven California counties joined the CDC’s “medium” level of coronaviruspositive hospitalizations from the “low” level: Orange County; Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area; and in the Central Valley and Sierra, Stanislaus, Merced, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties. Los Angeles County and the fourcounty Sacramento area were already in the medium level.
Since Oct. 1, the CDC has reported an average of about 1,400 COVID-19 deaths a week nationally. Over the same time period last year, there were about 2,400 weekly COVID-19 deaths.