Mother Lode counties add 3 COVID-19 deaths
Tuolumne County added two more COVID-19 deaths Monday, a woman and a man, both in their 70s and unvaccinated. No other information was released about their deaths, including when and where they died.
Calaveras County added another COVID-19 death on Monday, as well. The Calaveras Public Health Division identified the deceased individual as a woman in her 50s and disclosed no other information, including whether the woman was vaccinated.
As of Monday, COVID-19 had contributed to 140 deaths in Tuolumne County and 86 deaths in Calaveras County since the pandemic began early last year. At least 67 of Tuolumne County’s COVID-19 deaths — more than 47% — had occurred in the past four months.
Tuolumne County also added 29 new cases of coronavirus from Saturday to Monday, including 19 unvaccinated individuals and 10 people who were vaccinated. Its daily case rate decreased Monday to 27.6 per 100,000 residents averaged over the previous two weeks, down from 30.4 per 100,000 on Friday.
There were 100 active cases as of Monday in Tuolumne County, including seven Covid-positive people who were hospitalized. Six of the patients were unvaccinated.
New cases in Tuolumne County were identified Monday as two girls and one boy under age 12; one girl and one boy between 12 and 17; one woman and three men between 18 and 29; five women and two men in their 30s; two men in their 40s; three women and three men in their 50s;
three women in their 60s; a man in his 70s; and a man in his 90s.
Calaveras County added 23 new cases of COVID-19 from Saturday to Monday, though it doesn’t disclose vaccination status for new coronavirus cases or deaths.
The Tuolumne County Public Health Department is advising people this week to “Spread joy, not COVID.”
Specific recommendations for the holiday season related to COVID-19 include getting vaccinated and getting a booster if you’re eligible; staying home if you’re sick; getting tested before and after holiday gatherings and holiday travels; and wearing a mask that fits — such as N95, KN95, and surgical masks — when necessary, especially around unvaccinated individuals.
As of Monday afternoon, 62.1% of people 12 and older in Tuolumne County were fully vaccinated and 65.4% of people 12 and older in Calaveras County were fully vaccinated, according to county data monitored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Calaveras County Public Health Division has a mobile clinic van offering COVID-19 testing, vaccines and boosters from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Government Center in San Andreas. Eligibility can be verified at https://myturn.ca.gov.
No mobile clinics will be offered from Wednesday this week to Monday next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Future dates and destinations will be announced when available.
In addition, the Mother Lode Fairgrounds testing site off Stockton Road in Sonora will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving.
Otherwise, the fairgrounds testing site is supposed to be open seven days a week. The site is run by Logistics Health Incorporated, a subsidiary of OptumServe, which is a federal health services contractor being paid by the state of California.