News Blog
- Public health
- A Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory employee examines a COVID-19 test result.
The announcement comes after the county recorded one positive case each on April 14 and April 15, the sole new cases locally since April 7, and a day after county officials announced both a mandatory facial covering ordinance and the first steps toward efforts to reopen aspects of life in Humboldt County that have been shuttered by COVID-19.
In a press release, Humboldt County Public Health Officer Teresa Frankovich attributed the county's recent span without a positive test to the countywide shelter-in-place order and social distancing recommendations.
“The success of social distancing emphasizes how powerful prevention strategies can be," she said. "Facial coverings are an important tool for us to have on board when we begin to ease shelter-in-place restrictions on businesses and services, and bring more people in the community into contact with each other.”
Today's results come after the Humboldt County Health Laboratory processed 41 tests and corporate labs returned another six results, for a total of 47. Testing rates have slowed in recent weeks, which has been attributed to everything from a backlog at corporate laboratories and a reluctance of providers to order tests to the county moving out of traditional cold and flu season and fewer people suffering respiratory illness symptoms unrelated to COVID-19. But locals have gone from seeing an average of almost 87 tests a day in the span from March 25 through April 7, to an average of 47 tests a day since, with the latter span coinciding with a slowdown in positive cases. The biggest decline has come from the corporate labs, which went from reporting an average of almost 45 tests results a day in the first span to just nine tests per day in the second.
Of the county's 52 cases to date, 50 patients have recovered fully under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria and been released from isolation. Nine cases locally have been attributed to community transmission, meaning contact investigations could not determine the source of infection but believe it occurred locally.
Of the cases to date, nine of the patients have been located in Northern Humboldt County (meaning north of State Route 299), 40 have been in the "Greater Humboldt Bay Area" (meaning south of State Route 299 to State Route 36) and three have been in Southern Humboldt. (It's worth noting, however, the patients' areas of residence don't necessarily correlate with where they contracted the virus.)
The county has reported 52 COVID-19 cases to date, with the majority — 28 — coming in a six-day period from March 30 to April 6. But the rate of positive tests has tapered sharply over the past week, with a combined five announced for April 5 and April 6, one April 7 and no others until sole positive tests Tuesday and Wednesday. A Journal analysis of the limited testing data available found that the stretch of six consecutive days without a positive test coincided with a significant drop-off in samples tested at corporate laboratories.
Frankovich and Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal have repeatedly stressed the importance of local residents respecting the letter and spirit of the county's shelter-in-place order, staying in their homes and limiting essential outings, practicing social distancing measures and wearing facial coverings when they do have to leave home. The hope, Frankovich explains, is that these measures will slow Humboldt County's infection rate to the point that the number of active cases at any time — and the number of critically ill patients — does not overrun the local healthcare system, which has very limited capacity.
Basics of COVID-19
The California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control, state that symptoms of novel coronavirus include fever, cough, runny nose and shortness of breath.
Emergency warning signs needing immediate medical attention include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to awaken, and bluish lips or face.
In an emergency situation: Call ahead to the emergency room or inform the 911 operator of the possibility of a COVID-19 infection and, if possible, put on a face mask. St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial hospitals have opened tents on their campuses to begin screening patients who have “significant” symptoms consistent with the COVID-19 virus. The general hours of operation for the tents is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. but that is subject to change.
Symptoms or possible exposure: In the case of a possible exposure with symptoms — fever and cough or shortness of breath — contact your doctor’s office or the county Department of Health and Human Services, which has a hotline that can be reached during business hours at [email protected] or at (707) 441-5000. Residents seeking medical advice or questions about testing are asked to contact Public Health at [email protected] or at (707) 445-6200.
St. Joseph Health has also set up a virtual assessment tool as an aid to assess risk factors for contracting the illness, which can be found at www.providence.org/patients-and-visitors/coronavirus-advisory.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has started a rumor-control webpage that can be found here.
For the Journal's latest COVID stories, updates and information resources, click here.
See the full the testing report copied below:
April 22, 2020 - No New Confirmed Cases Today
707-441-5000 ; [email protected] ; Monday-Friday 8am to 7pm ; Saturday 10am to 5pm Opens in new window
No additional cases of COVID-19 were confirmed today. Humboldt County’s total number of positive cases stands at 52 since the outbreak began.
Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich said, “The success of social distancing emphasizes how powerful prevention strategies can be. Facial coverings are an important tool for us to have on board when we begin to ease shelter-in-place restrictions on businesses and services and bring more people in the community into contact with each other.”
The following information is based on the most recent data available for all confirmed cases:
Contact to a Known Case: 23
Travel-Acquired: 20
Community Transmission: 9
Under Investigation: 0
For the most recent COVID-19 information, visit cdc.gov or cdph.ca.gov. Local information is available at humboldtgov.org or during business hours by contacting [email protected] or calling 707-441-5000.
What do the numbers mean?
Total new confirmed cases—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the previous report.
Total number of confirmed cases—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the pandemic began, including people who have recovered from the illness.
Total number of hospitalizations—total number of people with confirmed cases of COVID who have been hospitalized since the pandemic began, including people who have been released.
Total number recovered—the number of confirmed cases who are no longer in isolation, meaning they have met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for release, including absence of fever for at least three days without use of fever-reducing medicine, improvement in symptoms and have had seven days or more since onset of symptoms.
Total number of people tested by Public Health Laboratory—number of people whose sample was tested by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory.
Total number of people tested by all other sources—total number of tests performed by the CDC, the CDPH, LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics. Non-local labs have a slower turnaround time than our local lab.
Public Health Laboratory test capacity—the approximate number of testing kits that are complete and ready to be administered. This number is decreased by testing and increased as additional supplies are acquired.
Public Health Laboratory turnaround time—the estimated amount of time it takes per testing run. Each run can include up to 20 samples; multiple batches can be run each day.
Transmission data
travel-acquired—nationally, internationally or regionally
contact to known case—an individual found to have been in direct contact with someone who tested positive for the virus
community transmission—spread without travel or known contact to any other confirmed case
under investigation—confirmed case whose means of transmission has not yet been determined.
Regional data
Currently measured by percentage of confirmed cases living in a densely populated area.
Soon to be represented instead by region after minimum thresholds of positive cases per region have been reached.
Gender—the gender of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. Total cases, shown by percentage.
Mean age—the average age of all the individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. Average age is calculated by adding all the ages of individuals together and dividing by the number of cases.
Test rates and confirmed case rates relative to the State of California—the number of tests performed per 100,000 people. Numbers of tests performed are provided by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, CDPH and the CDC. Population estimates are based on data from the United States Census Bureau. Rates are calculated by dividing the total number of tests performed by the population of the jurisdiction.
Confirmed case rates relative to the State of California—the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people. Test results are provided by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, CDPH and the CDC. Population estimates are based on data from the United States Census Bureau. Rates are calculated by dividing the total number of confirmed cases by the population of the jurisdiction.
Notes on patient and demographic data
To protect the identity of people with COVID-19, their specific location of residence will not be disclosed. The Humboldt County Public Health Branch is legally responsible for protecting personal health information, including residence address, specific age, recent travel, the identities and locations of any contacts, the provider of medical treatment, the course of illness and any other information that might identify an individual with or exposed to the virus unless it serves the interests of public health to do so.
Although we understand it is of interest to residents, providing location and demographic information to the general public does nothing to slow the spread of illness. Humboldt County is experiencing untraceable person-to-person transmission, also known as “community spread,” and there is no place that can be considered safe. To reduce your chances of acquiring or spreading COVID-19, avoid travel, wash your hands, keep yourself and your environment clean, follow the shelter-in-place order, and do not leave home for any reason unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.
The following case information is provided daily Monday through Saturday:
New positive cases
Total positive cases to date
Total hospitalizations to date
Total Public Health Lab tests to date
Total commercial lab tests to date
Public Health Lab test capacity, total and daily, and estimated turnaround time
Transmission data
travel-acquired
contact to known case
community transmission
under investigation
Additional information is updated each Friday:
Regional data
currently measured by percentage in densely populated area
soon to be represented instead by region after minimum thresholds of positive cases per region have been reached
Gender
Mean age
Test rates and positive test rates relative to the State of California.
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19,
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19,
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19, and
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
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April 22, 2020
Total new positive cases confirmed on April 22: 0
Daily COVID-19 case report for April 22
Total number of positive cases: 52
Total number of hospitalizations: 3
Total number of recovered cases: 50
Total number of people tested by Public Health Laboratory: 1,138
Total number of people tested by all other sources: 662
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California Department of Public Health and commercial labs)
The Public Health Laboratory currently has a capacity of approximately 750 tests and can process about 60 samples a day with an approximate turnaround time of 48 to 72 hours.
For the most recent information about COVID-19, visit CDC.gov or CDPH.ca.gov. For local information, visit humboldtgov.org, call 707-441-5000 or email [email protected].
What do the numbers mean?
Total new confirmed cases—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the previous report.
Total number of confirmed cases—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the pandemic began, including people who have recovered from the illness.
Total number of hospitalizations—total number of people with confirmed cases of COVID who have been hospitalized since the pandemic began, including people who have been released.
Total number recovered—the number of confirmed cases who are no longer in isolation, meaning they have met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for release, including absence of fever for at least three days without use of fever-reducing medicine, improvement in symptoms and have had seven days or more since onset of symptoms.
Total number of people tested by Public Health Laboratory—number of people whose sample was tested by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory.
Total number of people tested by all other sources—total number of tests performed by the CDC, the CDPH, LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics. Non-local labs have a slower turnaround time than our local lab.
Public Health Laboratory test capacity—the approximate number of testing kits that are complete and ready to be administered. This number is decreased by testing and increased as additional supplies are acquired.
Public Health Laboratory turnaround time—the estimated amount of time it takes per testing run. Each run can include up to 20 samples; multiple batches can be run each day.
Transmission data
travel-acquired—nationally, internationally or regionally
contact to known case—an individual found to have been in direct contact with someone who tested positive for the virus
community transmission—spread without travel or known contact to any other confirmed case
under investigation—confirmed case whose means of transmission has not yet been determined.
Regional data
Currently measured by percentage of confirmed cases living in a densely populated area.
Soon to be represented instead by region after minimum thresholds of positive cases per region have been reached.
Gender—the gender of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. Total cases, shown by percentage.
Mean age—the average age of all the individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. Average age is calculated by adding all the ages of individuals together and dividing by the number of cases.
Test rates and confirmed case rates relative to the State of California—the number of tests performed per 100,000 people. Numbers of tests performed are provided by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, CDPH and the CDC. Population estimates are based on data from the United States Census Bureau. Rates are calculated by dividing the total number of tests performed by the population of the jurisdiction.
Confirmed case rates relative to the State of California—the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people. Test results are provided by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, CDPH and the CDC. Population estimates are based on data from the United States Census Bureau. Rates are calculated by dividing the total number of confirmed cases by the population of the jurisdiction.
Notes on patient and demographic data
To protect the identity of people with COVID-19, their specific location of residence will not be disclosed. The Humboldt County Public Health Branch is legally responsible for protecting personal health information, including residence address, specific age, recent travel, the identities and locations of any contacts, the provider of medical treatment, the course of illness and any other information that might identify an individual with or exposed to the virus unless it serves the interests of public health to do so.
Although we understand it is of interest to residents, providing location and demographic information to the general public does nothing to slow the spread of illness. Humboldt County is experiencing untraceable person-to-person transmission, also known as “community spread,” and there is no place that can be considered safe. To reduce your chances of acquiring or spreading COVID-19, avoid travel, wash your hands, keep yourself and your environment clean, follow the shelter-in-place order, and do not leave home for any reason unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.
The following case information is provided daily Monday through Saturday:
New positive cases
Total positive cases to date
Total hospitalizations to date
Total Public Health Lab tests to date
Total commercial lab tests to date
Public Health Lab test capacity, total and daily, and estimated turnaround time
Transmission data
travel-acquired
contact to known case
community transmission
under investigation
Additional information is updated each Friday:
Regional data
currently measured by percentage in densely populated area
soon to be represented instead by region after minimum thresholds of positive cases per region have been reached
Gender
Mean age
Test rates and positive test rates relative to the State of California.
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19,
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19,
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19, and
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
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