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Sonoma County health officials reported four new deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, the first recorded in September, bringing the total number of deaths from the pandemic to 372.
The county’s official tally does not yet include the death of Corrections Lieutenant Bobby Travelstead, 40, a Sheriff’s Office veteran who died at a local hospital on September 1 from complications from COVID-19.
The deaths reported on Monday involved a vaccinated woman between the ages of 80 and 90, with an underlying health problem, who died on September 2 in a residential care facility. Authorities said a vaccinated man between the ages of 90 and 100, also suffering from an underlying health problem, died on September 6 at a local hospital.
An unvaccinated man between 60 and 70 with an underlying health problem died on September 2 at a local hospital; and an unvaccinated woman between the ages of 40 and 50, also suffering from an underlying health problem, died on September 5 at a local hospital.
Due to the time it takes to confirm COVID-19 deaths with the state, there is often a lag of days or weeks before local county public health staff can officially register or register the deaths. linked to the pandemic.
There is still a chance that the August deaths will continue to be reported. Last month saw the second highest number of pandemic deaths since January, when the peak of a deadly winter wave claimed the lives of 68 people.
New infection rates have been declining for several weeks in Sonoma County, as well as other parts of the state, although deaths from COVID-19 continue to be reported. According to public health experts, deaths from a pandemic are often a month or more behind new cases.
The current average transmission rate is 15.7 new daily cases per 100,000 people. That’s less than half of what it was the first week in August, when it hit as many as 34 new cases per 100,000 daily.
In Mendocino County, infection rates are also dropping, although deaths from the pandemic continue to rise. Mendocino County health official Dr Andrew Coren said in a coronavirus update to the Oversight Board on Tuesday morning that 70 county residents have died from complications from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic , including five last week. On Tuesday afternoon, authorities added another death to the death toll.
But Coren said transmission rates have continued to decline in recent weeks, from an average of 55 new cases per 100,000 per 100,000 per day in early August to about 39 new cases per 100,000 today. Hospitals continue to be hit hard by the summer wave, causing local medical staff to burn out.
“We find that many of our own hospital workers find it very difficult to work the extra shifts,” he said.
There are currently 26 residents of Mendocino County hospitalized, including eight in intensive care. Five are currently receiving intensive care treatment in Santa Rosa and San Francisco, and as of Tuesday morning there were no staffed intensive care beds available in Mendocino County, Coren said.
Coren told supervisors he revised a health ordinance requiring companies to adopt vaccination policies after meeting with companies in a “protest rally” earlier this month. The health ordinance required companies that serve food and drink to require employees to show proof of vaccinations or tests frequently, and that customers check their immunization status if they want to eat inside.
Coren, who acknowledged the financial hardships small businesses have endured throughout the pandemic, said he had changed the order from a requirement to a “strong recommendation.”
But he said in response to other members of the community, he demands that companies publish the pandemic precautions they are taking so that customers can make an informed decision on where to eat safely.
“I think it will protect employees and customers without harming small businesses or the community,” Coren said.
You can reach editor-in-chief Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or [email protected]. On Twitter @pressreno.
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