Mendocino County expects more COVID-19 cases in coming weeks
Mendocino County officials announced on Thursday evening in a press conference that the first confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Mendocino County is a woman under 30 who was diagnosed at a South Coast primary care clinic. The woman had symptoms but did not need to go to the hospital and is improving. She is currently in isolation with close monitoring and is not out in the community.
“She poses no threat to public health,” said Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan.
The woman had been in contact with someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the county said. The case is under investigation, and no other details were available. Dr. Doohan said the clinic where the woman went handled everything well, screened her properly, and reported the case to the county immediately. The county also currently has five people in quarantine who are being monitored.
Essential tasks include, but are not limited to, obtaining medical supplies or medication, visiting a health care professional, obtaining supplies they need to work from home, getting necessary supplies like food, performing work at essential businesses, or outdoor activities like running or walking that comply with social distancing requirements.
This is the first known case in Mendocino County. There are around 70 cases in San Francisco, while Sonoma County has nine confirmed cases.
The county is also now under a shelter-in-place order, which requires that people stay in their homes except for essential tasks. Essential tasks include, but are not limited to, obtaining medical supplies or medication, visiting a health care professional, obtaining supplies they need to work from home, getting necessary supplies like food, performing work at essential businesses, or outdoor activities like running or walking that comply with social distancing requirements.
Many non- essential Mendocino County departments on Thursday closed down to the public or limited their time open to the public. The full order and details from the county about sheltering-in- place is available online at the county website at https:// www. mendocinocounty. org/ community/ novelcoronavirus.
The order is modeled after the Bay Area orders of shelter-in-place that were given last week. The county shelter-in-place order has been in effect since 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 18. An order from the health official gives the sheriff’s office the ability to enforce the order if people don’t follow it. A violation of the order is a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment or both.
The county is monitoring to make sure that shelterin-place orders for non- essential businesses are being followed. Doohan said at a press conference on Thursday that she would order the closure of businesses that create a risk to the public’s health.
“Based on the fact that the Bay Area and Sonoma County right next door are experiencing widespread community transition of COVID-19, and with our college students coming home to Mendocino County, it is virtually certain that we are experiencing the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Doohan said. “We should be prepared to see more cases and further spread in Mendocino County in the coming weeks.”
Much of the county’s focus in the near future will be on mitigation and slowing the spread of the virus.