Tuolumne County’s COVID case rate continues to decline
Tuolumne County added 39 new cases of COVID-19 and Calaveras County added 34 on Monday, the first update for both since Wednesday.
Neither county recorded any new deaths attributed to COVID-19 between Wednesday and Monday.
As of Monday, COVID-19 had contributed to 141 deaths in Tuolumne County and 89 deaths in Calaveras County since the pandemic began early last year.
The Tuolumne County Public Health Department also shared information Monday about the new omicron variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus, which had yet to be detected in the United States but has the World Health Organization warning it poses “very high” risk.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top medical officer advising President Joe Biden, said on Sunday that the omicron variant could lead to a fifth wave of COVID-19 in the U.S.
In Tuolumne County, local officials said people should continue to focus on being fully vaccinated for COVID-19, masking indoors, testing, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and staying home when not feeling well.
Dr. Eric Sergienko, the interim Tuolumne County health officer, issued a local health order on Monday for isolation and quarantine measures to replace a state order that expired in June.
A recent clarification from the state made the local order necessary, the county Public Health Department said, as isolation and quarantine measures are vital to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Of the 39 new cases added Monday in Tuolumne County, 24 were reportedly unvaccinated individuals and 15 were vaccinated. Calaveras County does not disclose vaccination status for new cases or deaths.
Tuolumne County’s daily case rate decreased Monday to 19.2 per 100,000 residents averaged over the previous two weeks, down from 25.4 per 100,000 on Wednesday last week.
There were 62 active cases as of Monday in Tuolumne County, including 10 Covid-positive people who were hospitalized: five of them unvaccinated and five vaccinated.
New cases in Tuolumne County were identified Monday as two girls younger than 12; two girls and two boys between 12 and 17; three women and two men between 18 and 29; seven women and three men in their 30s; two women and one man in their 40s; two men in their 50s; three women and two men in their 60s; three women and two men in their 70s; and one woman and two men in their 80s.
As of Monday afternoon, 62.4% of people 12 and older in Tuolumne County were fully vaccinated and 65.7% 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.