Shasta County COVID updates: 57 new cases over weekend as county tries to avoid purple tier restrictions
Matt Brannon
Shasta County reports 57 new cases, asks permission to remain in red tier
3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19
For the third week in a row, Shasta County has the highest new case rate in California, according to the state's reopening dashboard, which updates every Tuesday. The county's rate of 22.9 new cases a day per 100,000 residents is three times the state average of 7 a day per 100,000.
Meanwhile, another 57 Shasta County residents tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend, health officials reported Monday.
That brings the total to 1,723 cases among residents since the start of the pandemic. That includes 153 active cases with nine hospitalizations. Twenty-nine people have died from the virus while 1,541 have been released from isolation since March, according to a news release from the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency.
The agency found 27 cases Friday and 30 on Saturday with no case work done on Sunday. The latest cases were found in 35 women and 22 men. Here's how they break down by age:
7 teenagers
12 people in their 20s
8 people in their 40s
The county's high coronavirus numbers mean it is moving from the state's red/substantial risk tier to purple/widespread. The change will bring back more restrictions to business operations until the numbers subside.
Shasta County officials sent a request to the state government to remain in the red tier despite purple-tier-level numbers. However, the state does not plan to approve the request, according to the HHSA news release.
"The county described (to the state government) the recent outbreaks and the steps that have been taken to address them, and stated that the county has not identified significant disease spread in the sectors that will be further restricted in the purple tier," read the news release.
Officials have also been responding to an outbreak at Windsor Redding Care Center. A state database shows 21 residents of the center have died from COVID-19.
Amid high case numbers, county officials also reminded residents that while no prevention method is perfect, the more methods people use, the better they can protect themselves and others.
Practices like distancing, masks, hand hygiene, surface cleaning, ventilation, contact tracing, as well as fast and sensitive testing, can help businesses reopen quicker, according to the release.
More:Shasta County COVID-19 death toll reaches 29 on Friday
More:North State lawmakers, challengers adjust to campaigning in a COVID-19 world
COVID-19 cases in the North State
3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20
Here's where COVID-19 case totals stood in far Northern California, according to the most recent reports from each county's public health department.
Butte County, 23,015
Shasta County, 1,723
Tehama County, 792
Glenn County, 647
Colusa County, 548
Siskiyou County, 185
Lassen County, 124 in the general population and 637 in its state prisons
Plumas County, 54
Modoc County, 27
Trinity County, 25
Coastal counties in Northern California:
Mendocino, 1,104
Del Norte, 175
COVID-19 in California
2:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20
Here's the most recent statewide COVID-19 count, tabulated by state health officials since March 19, 2020:
Confirmed cases in California: 874,077
Deaths: 16,992
Current hospitalizations from confirmed cases: 2,291
Current hospitalizations from suspected cases: 813
Cases, age 0-17: 92,375
Cases, age 18-49: 523,072
Cases, age 65+: 92,952
Age unknown/missing: 861
Health workers infected: 42,565
Health workers who have died: 197
COVID-19 in the U.S and the world
1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19
Here's the caseload nationwide and worldwide, as reported by Johns Hopkins University:
U.S. cases: 8.2 million
U.S. deaths: 219,950
Global cases: 40.3 million
Global deaths: 1.1 million
Matt Brannon covers politics, the criminal justice system and breaking news for the Record Searchlight. Follow him on Twitter @MattBrannon_RS. Support local coverage and keep up with the North State for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.