Humboldt County Public Health confirmed three new COVID-19 cases again today, bringing the county's total to 515.

Humboldt County remains in the “moderate” category under the state's four-tiered system, with a test positivity rate of 0.7 percent and 1.2 cases per 100,000 individuals, according to the state's data, which was updated Sept. 29. The statewide level is 7 cases per 100,000 and a test positivity rate of 3.4 percent.

The state's "substantial" risk tier — which includes counties averaging between 4 and seven new cases a day per 100,000 residents or test positivity rates of 5 to 8 percent — brings tighter restrictions, including further limiting indoor restaurant and gym capacities and closing some "non-essential indoor business operations," like office. If the county were to move into the "substantial risk" tier, it would then need to record numbers in the "moderate" tier for 21 consecutive days before the state would loosen the added restrictions.

But in the local risk assessment, the county reported it has upgraded both the "health care capacity" and "effectiveness of disease control" categories to Level 1, or "new normal," from Level 2, or "moderate risk," as hospitalizations and rates of new confirmed cases have slowed.
To date, Humboldt County has seen 32 hospitalizations and eight deaths, including two over the past week. Nationwide, 7.2 million COVID-19 have been confirmed with 206,402 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control, including 813,687 cases and 15,888 deaths in California.

Today's Humboldt County results included the processing of 214 samples, with a positivity rate of 1.2 percent.

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.

Oct. 1, 2020 - Three New Cases Reported Today
707-441-5000 ; [email protected] ; Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm Opens in new window
A total of 515 Humboldt County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, after three new cases were reported today.

Two of the county’s three Risk Alert Levels — the Health Care System Capacity and Effectiveness of Disease Control — improved and moved from level two or yellow, into level one or green. The shift in Health Care System Capacity is due to trends in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and availability of critical medical resources. The shift in Effectiveness of Disease Control is due to effectiveness of community mitigation and public health efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.

The Spread of COVID-19 Alert Level remains at level two or yellow, which keeps the overall alert level at two or level yellow. 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,
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19,
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19,
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19, and
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert

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