Mendocino County Numbers for 12-30-20

Total cases: 2441

New cases: 35

Active cases: 321

Pending Tests: 3291+

Hospitalization: 17

ICU: 3

Quarantine and isolation: 600

5.63% positivity rate

40 per 100,000

Deaths: 26

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Fort Bragg Veteran’s Hall EVERY TUESDAY at 9am, Free, First come First Serve. Register at lhi.care/covidtesting

Calls

1. Why aren’t there more tests available, especially on the south coast? We’re not sure when the next testing event will be on the south coast.
2. Should people stay out of LA until they get the vaccine? Yes.
3. What should you do if you think you’re asymptomatic or have recovered without knowing that you had it? If you believe you’re asymptomatic you should quarantine and get tested. If you are symptomatic in any way then testing and isolation is also warranted.
4. Comments on the new strain in Britain? This strain has 28 different mutations and has been found in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. It appears to be more contagious. We do not have very robust genomic surveillance in the United States so we don’t know how many people have it here. 

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-28-20

Total cases: 2406

New cases: 114

Active cases: 321

Pending Tests: 3000+

Hospitalization: 17

ICU: 5

Quarantine and isolation: 600

5.63% positivity rate

40 per 100,000

Deaths: 26

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Fort Bragg Veteran’s Hall December 18th and EVERY TUESDAY at 9am, Free, First come First Serve. Register at lhi.care/covidtesting

Calls

1. What kind of quarantine and testing should be carried out if someone were to return from international travel. You should get tested immediately upon arrival, quarantine for seven days, and then be tested again at the end of the seven days.
2. Where would people who live on the coast get their vaccination. It would most likely be administered through RCMS (Redwood Coast Medical Services), but that is not confirmed.
3. Do air filters work? They do filter your air and ones with ultraviolet light can kill the virus, but COVID guidelines still need to be followed in rooms with air filters.
4. Are the vaccines interchangeable? We don’t know. Whether or not you can mix vaccines for the two needed shots has not been tested yet.
5. What's the recommendation for people who have to carry an epipen and have autoimmune issues when it comes to getting the vaccine? These people should still get the vaccine. People are kept close by for 15 minutes after getting the shot to make sure that everybody is OK.
6. What is going on with the outbreak in our local jail? There are about 17 inmates and 5 staff within the jail who have contracted COVID and there will be a special show with Sheriff Kendall tomorrow morning from 9am to 10am.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-23-20

Total cases: 2292

New cases: 62

Active cases: 321

Pending Tests: 2600

Hospitalization: 17

ICU: 5

Isolation: 321

Quarantine: 450+

5.38% positivity rate

40 per 100,000

Deaths: 24

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Fort Bragg Veteran’s Hall December 18th and EVERY TUESDAY at 9am, Free, First come First Serve. Register at lhi.care/covidtesting

Calls:

1. How many months after the vaccine will the booster be taken? It will be taken 3-4 weeks later depending which vaccine you get.
2. Is it safe to get the vaccine if you are breastfeeding your baby? It hasn’t been studied yet, but the general consensus is that it is safe during both pregnancy and lactation based on how vaccines generally affect those groups of people.
3. What does it mean for the new strain to be 70 percent more contagious? We don’t really know that 70 percent is based on population spread. We don’t know if it’s due to increased viral load or increased entree into the host cells.
4. If someone is hospitalized in Mendocino County, will they stay inside the county for the hospitalization if they are from outside of the area. Why are more places open like beaches? Yes they will stay in the area but they will not be included in the county’s covid count. Outside activities like camping and beaches are now known to be low-risk activities and have been reopened.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-20

Total cases: 2230

New cases: 180

Active cases: 321

Pending Tests: 2100

Hospitalization: 11

ICU: 3

Isolation: 321

Quarantine: 450+

5.23% positivity rate

22 per 100,000

Deaths: 24

Calls

1. Should I drive with my mask on? If you’re driving a car that will be used by others then yes, but if it’s your personal car then no.
2. Do people who have already gotten COVID still need the vaccine and how will it affect their body? Yes, you should still get vaccinated. The vaccine created a better immune response than a covid infection will.
3. How did they test to see if the vaccine works? Half of the people in the trial are given the vaccine and half are given a placebo. They then go about their lives as normal and are monitored for signs of illness. Once enough people get COVID in the trial group, they analyze whether or not the sick patients had the vaccine or the placebo.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-18-20

Total cases: 2134

New cases: 83

Pending Tests: 1800

Hospitalization: 7

ICU: 2

Isolation: 321

Quarantine: 450+

4.9% positivity rate

22 per 100,000

Deaths: 24

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Fort Bragg Veteran’s Hall December 18th and EVERY TUESDAY at 9am, Free, First come First Serve. Register at lhi.care/covidtesting

Calls

1. Can you still shed the virus after you have been vaccinated? This vaccine was developed so quickly that we do not yet know how it will affect a person's capability to shed and spread the virus. It will protect the vaccinated person against the severest form of the disease.
2. How long will it take to get results from the Optumserv in Fort Bragg and how do you sign up for testing? A majority of test results are returned within 2 days. You can either call +1 (888) 634-1123 to register and get your patient number or you can sign up at  LHI.care/covidtesting.
3. At some point will there be a standby list of people who are prepared to take the vaccine in case there is a surplus of vaccines and they will expire? Yes, there are lists of the first priority people who will be getting the vaccines and some extra people have been notified in case we receive extra vaccines. The county has been very careful to make sure that none of the doses will be wasted.
4. If you are a nurse or home hospice worker, is there a way to get the vaccine without going through the hospital or your employer? We are looking at home health care workers and evaluating who is most in need of the vaccine. They are high up on the list of people who will be receiving the vaccine.
5. Why will there be a three week break before the next Friday local coronavirus update? Next week is Christmas and after that is new years, and the people working on the Friday update need a break. If something urgent comes up, the public will be notified. The next board of supervisors meeting will be January 5th.
6. Will jails be releasing people? Congregate living situations are very dangerous for COVID infection, so some people may be transferred or released to avoid a COVID outbreak. Surveillance testing is being done in jails as well.
7. What is the status of therapists for receiving the vaccine? If you are working in a hospital and considered a health care worker then you may be on the list for the vaccine.
8. Will the general public be getting the vaccine by the end of summer? Probably
9. What are the options for testing on the coast? Regular testing on Tuesdays at the Veterans Hall in Fort Bragg. If you are symptomatic you should go to a primary care provider or go to the emergency room. 
10. If I got a covid test a couple of weeks ago during the outbreak testing in Albion and never heard back, can I assume that my test was negative? Yes, Public Health outbreak testing only calls you if you are COVID positive. You can call 472-2759 for any other testing issues.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-16-20

Total cases: 2051

Active Cases: approx. 283

New cases: 60

Pending Tests: 1800

Hospitalization: 7

ICU: 2

Quarantine: 450+

4.9% positivity rate

22 per 100,000

Deaths: 24

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Fort Bragg Veteran’s Hall December 18th and EVERY TUESDAY at 9am, Free, First come First Serve. 

Point Arena Friday the 18th, 9:30 am. Veterans Hall.

Anderson Valley Friday the 18th, 7 am. 12300 Anderson Valley way.

Calls

1. If you get the vaccine, will the reaction happen right afterwards or later when you go home? The most common reaction (achiness and flu symptoms) will occur 18-36 hours after you get the vaccine. The anaphylactic shock reaction (very rare) would happen 15 minutes after injection.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-14-20

Total cases: 1,991

Active Cases: approx. 256

New cases: 38

Pending Tests: 1400

Hospitalization: 7

ICU: 2

Quarantine: 400+

4.78% positivity rate

22 per 100,000

Deaths: 24

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Fort Bragg Veteran’s Hall December 18th and EVERY TUESDAY at 9am, Free, First come First Serve. 

Point Arena Friday the 18th, 9:30 am. Veterans Hall.

Anderson Valley Friday the 18th, 7 am. 12300 Anderson Valley way.

Calls: 

1. Should I shower after coming home? It’s not a bad idea, but it's a little overkill. The risks associated with not showering after homing home are not high.
2. Is it safe to get together with relatives who have contracted COVID and are now completely recovered? There is a fair amount of evidence showing temporary immunity after recovering from COVID, but Dr.Colfax is still cautious to recommend getting together with them.
3. There will be Hopland surveillance testing this Thursday (the 17th). Location: HWY 101 at the drive in by the casino billboard.
4. Where do hospice workers fall in the tiers of receiving the vaccine? When you come back into the country, if you get a negative COVID test, do you still have to quarantine? You would probably be in the early second wave of health care workers receiving the vaccine. You would still have to quarantine for a week with a negative test

Special Segment: Following the Coronavirus Update, stay tuned for a 30-minute excerpt of a webinar hosted by Healthy Mendocino, a conversation with the County’s new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. To hear the entire webinar and to find out more about the Task Force, visit HealthyMendocino.org.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-9-20

Total cases: 1,911

New cases: 96 (since Wednesday)

Pending Tests: 1477

Hospitalization: 7

ICU: 2

Isolation: 288

Quarantine: 458

4.62% positivity rate

22 per 100,000

Deaths: 24

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Calls

1. Should you shower when you get home from shopping? There are no recommendations that you need to take a shower.
2. Is there a way to access how many infected people are in each zip code? Do they test the wastewater by zip code? The number of positive cases by zip codes is on the mendocino county website. Wastewater testing has been something of interest, but there are technical problems of doing it in our community.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-9-20

Total cases: 1816

New cases: 79 (since Monday)

In Quarantine: 400

Pending Tests: 1477

4.4% positivity rate

22 per 100,000

Deaths: 24

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Outbreak at Building Bridges homeless shelter in Ukiah, 8 cases

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Calls: 

1. My dentist at UCSF won’t let me come in unless I have a throat swab done. Dr, Drew Colfax does not believe we have throat swabbing available in the county.
2. How many people are getting tested? We avg 120-180 tests per day. This is considered adequate testing. If you come into the county and get a COVID test and it comes out negative, do you still need to quarantine? The new CDC guidelines require a maximum of 10 days for quarantine, which can be reduced to seven if you get a negative COVID test at the end of those seven days. So far the County has not updated its quarantine recommendations from 14 days, but they are expected to do so when the state does.
3. After we all get the vaccine, what will be the body’s reaction? What are the symptoms? Most people have a mild localized reaction, similar to the reaction people have after getting the flu vaccine. The vaccine does not contain COVID virus, so it will not give you an infection.
4. How many positive cases do you have to have in an area before it's considered an outbreak? Earlier on in the pandemic it only required 2 people, it may have changed to 3 but it is still a very low number. When will elderly vulnerable people be getting the vaccine? They are in the second tier of people that will be getting them. It is a pretty large group so it will take a while to vaccinate all of them.

Mendocino County Numbers for 12-7-20

Total cases: 1737

New cases: 105 (since last Wednesday)

In Quarantine: 400

Pending Tests: 1477

4.4% positivity rate

22 per 100,000

Deaths: 23

Mendocino Covid-19 Call Center: 707-472-2759

Testing:

Optumserv: Ukiah at the fairgrounds 7am to 7pm, seven days a week. Walk ins OK. Free. Website: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

Calls: 

1. When will a high risk 70 year old be vaccinated? Out of 100 places, this person would most likely be placed in 8th or 9th place, meaning they will probably be vaccinated in February or March. Is it safe to camp right now? Yes, it is safe and gets you outside which is always good.
2. Is there any contact tracing going on in Mendocino County? Our numbers have gotten so high that the county’s capacity to contact trace everyone is being overwhelmed. We do not have enough staffing to trace everyone who gets COVID.
3. How should we handle our college kid coming home from out of state? He should quarantine for seven days and get a test at optumserv at the end of the seven days. Then he should retest a couple of days later.
4. If my son and daughter in law wanted to come up from Los Angeles in an RV and quarantine for seven days, could they come up? LA is overwhelmed with COVID right now, so traveling does put others at risk. It is recommended that the get tested in LA and upon arrival here and quarantine as well.
5. The risk of catching COVID from being outdoors around people who are unmasked is relatively low.