Humboldt County Public Health confirmed eight new COVID-19 cases today, making 100 so far this month and bringing the countywide tally to 333.

Today's tally comes after 352 samples were processed with a positivity rate of 2.3 percent and makes 24 cases confirmed so far this week.

The increasing number of cases this month has prompted public health to raise the "Effectiveness of Disease Control" to level three on the county’s Alert Level Assessment Tool.

Nationally, more than 5.5 million COVID-19 cases have been officially confirmed to date with 171,012 fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Those include 638,831 cases and 11,523 deaths in California, according to the Department of Public Health.


Humboldt County Public Health is urging residents who aren't experiencing symptoms to get tested free of charge at the mobile testing site at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds. (People experiencing symptoms should contact a healthcare provider, officials say.) Asymptomatic individuals can make an appointment to be tested by visiting https://Lhi.care/covidtesting or calling (888) 634-1123. Tests will be administered free of charge, whether or not people have health insurance.

Basics of COVID-19

The California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control, state that symptoms of novel coronavirus include cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or at least two of the following: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat or a new loss of taste or smell.

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.

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 here.

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.

Read the county's release below.

Five new cases were reported today, bringing to 325 the total number of county residents who have tested positive for the virus.

August 19, 2020 - Eight New Cases Reported Today
707-441-5000 ; [email protected] ; Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm Opens in new window
Humboldt County’s COVID-19 case count now stands at 333, after eight additional cases were reported today.

Today’s alert level stands at three or level orange. Visit humboldtgov.org/dashboard to view the county’s Alert Level Assessment tool.

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.


Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/dashboard,
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Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert