SANTA CRUZ –The County of Santa Cruz Public Health Division is announcing additional cases of COVID-19, for a total of seven. Many more people have been tested in recent days, and more cases are expected. Santa Cruz County Public Health is in daily contact and is actively monitoring all cases. The County of Santa Cruz is now considered to have community spread. “We have shifted our efforts away from containment and towards mitigation,” Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said. “We continue to work closely with our regional, state and national partners in our efforts to lessen the impact of COVID-19.” Dr. Newel has issued social distancing and workplace guidelines
.In addition, Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued statewide directives on public gatherings, available here. As of Thursday morning, California Department of Public Health officials have identified a total of 198 COVID-19 cases statewide, including four deaths. With Santa Cruz County considered a moderate risk community, guidance on community mitigation strategies can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community-mitigation-strategy.pdf.
Additional updated guidance can be found on the California Department of Public Health website at: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Guidance.aspx. Santa Cruz County residents are strongly urged to take measures to protect themselves, their families and their community.
For local information, residents may visit www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus, call 211 or text “coronavirus” to 211211
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Guidance.aspx
Santa Cruz County residents are strongly urged to take measures to protect themselves, their families and their community. For local information, residents may visit www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus, call 211 or text “coronavirus” to 211211.
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Gathering_Guidance_03.11.20.pdf
To protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, gatherings as described below should be postponed or canceled across the state of California for at least the remainder of the month of March. The California Department of Public Health finds the following:
• Large gatherings that include 250 people or more should be postponed or canceled.
o This includes gatherings such as concerts, conferences, and professional, college, and school sporting events.
• Smaller gatherings held in venues that do not allow social distancing of six feet per person should be postponed or canceled.
o This includes gatherings in crowded auditoriums, rooms or other venues.
• Gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people.
o This includes gatherings such as those at retirement facilities, assisted living facilities, developmental homes, and support groups for people with health conditions.
• A “gathering” is any event or convening that brings together people in a single room or single space at the same time, such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, cafeteria, or any other indoor or outdoor space.
This applies to all non-essential professional, social, and community gatherings regardless of their sponsor. Gatherings that do not meet the aforementioned criteria should only be conducted when they are essential—that is, if the activity is essential and could not be postponed or achieved without gathering, meaning that some other means of communication could not be used to conduct the essential function.
What will this achieve? The timely implementation of aggressive strategies that create social distance and those that reduce close contact of people not regularly together, including limiting gatherings, has proven effective in prior pandemics at delaying rates of transmission and reducing illness and death.
By decreasing the prevalence of disease across California we will:
• Reduce the number of Cali[...]