Weekly report for September 3, 2021 | Latest news | County Administrator’s Office

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Posted: September 3, 2021

As of Tuesday, 75 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals in Sonoma County. This included 19 intensive care beds. While the number of COVID-related hospitalizations is at its highest level since February, the rate appears to have stabilized over the past two weeks. However, deaths generally delay hospitalizations by several weeks. The county reported 21 COVID-related deaths in August, following 16 in July. This compares to one COVID-related death reported in May and four in June.

It is important to note that 97% of the 356 deaths from COVID-19 that have occurred in the county were among unvaccinated residents. Residents of Sonoma County who are eligible for a vaccine and choose not to receive one continue to put themselves and others at risk. Even if a vaccinated person is infected with the highly contagious Delta variant, they are protected against the worst consequences of hospitalization and death. In Sonoma County, 444 cases of the Delta variant have been identified so far.

This week’s summary provides useful and important updates on the following:

  1. In-person school status update
  2. State offers new app to find out if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19
  3. Upcoming free vaccines and COVID-19 testing clinics
  4. COVID-19 Community Resources and Support
  5. Other departmental news
  6. Emergency Preparedness Tips and Resources

In-person school status update

As of Wednesday, nearly 64% of the county’s children aged 12 to 15 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 54% are fully immunized against the disease.

The Association of Bay Area Health Officials (ABAHO) released a statement this week saying measures such as masks, distancing and vaccinations should stop the spread of the virus on school campuses. They recognized that the harm caused by stopping classroom teaching and returning to online education outweighs the current health threat.

Since the students returned to class in August, 108 cases of COVID-19 have been reported, including 90 students and 18 staff. Only 10 cases have been identified as transmission at school. With 66,000 county public school students and more than 8,000 staff members, cases to date are minimal.

Read the full ABAHO statement here:

https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/press/joint-release-2021.08.26.pdf

Sonoma County has resumed hosting weekly community briefings that are broadcast live on Facebook in English at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and in Spanish on Thursday at 4 p.m. The COVID-19 community briefings on August 25 and 26 included an update on the reopening of schools that offered parents the opportunity to ask questions.

The briefings are recorded and can be viewed on the county’s YouTube channel in English and Spanish for those who cannot watch them live.

All recent briefings can be found on County Facebook or YouTube here:

How COVID-19 cases in schools are handled is determined by the number of cases involved and the exposure. Clusters of three or more cases in a school are an indication that the spread may be occurring on campus. When cases do arise, exposure will be monitored through contact tracing and testing if necessary. Universal masking means classrooms and schools will not be closed in a few cases through the use of a modified quarantine protocol and a reporting process when students or staff test positive for COVID- 19.

If parents do not feel comfortable with in-person instruction for their child, they can opt for an independent study program, which will vary by district.

California Department of Public Health back-to-school information sheet:

The “CA Notify” smartphone application alerts a possible exposure

California now offers a free service that lets residents know if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19, as well as let others know if you’ve tested positive, while remaining anonymous. Personal information is never collected, so app users and others can stay safe. Depending on the state, once you activate CA Notify on your smartphone, it does all the work as long as Bluetooth is turned on. Alerts are sent if users of the app were in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Confidentiality is protected because identities are not known and specific locations are not tracked.

To learn more, including how to activate CA Notify, please visit:

https://canotify.ca.gov/

California residents can also access a digital copy of their COVID-19 vaccination record here:
https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/

Residents are asked to keep their paper CDC cards in a safe place.

Upcoming COVID-19 vaccine and testing schedule

The County Vaccination Clinics page is continually updated, including a pop-up calendar that makes it easier to see which clinics are operating each day, where they are located, and how to make an appointment.

Consult the contextual calendar of the vaccination clinic here:
https://socoemergency.org/events/category/pop-up-vaccine/

In addition to pop-up and one-day vaccination clinics, multi-day vaccination clinics are also available:

  • The Roseland Clinic is operated by Fox Home Health at 779 Sebastopol Road. It is open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • The clinic at the Rohnert Park Community Center at 5401 Snyder Lane is open Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Sutter operates a daily clinic at 2360 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  • The Alliance Medical Center clinic at 1381 University Ave. in Healdsburg is open Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
  • Fox Home Health also operates a clinic Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 4:00 pm at 1400 N. Dutton Ave., Suite 17, Santa Rosa.
  • The Rohnert Park Health Center operates a clinic Tuesday through Friday at 5900 State Farm Dr., 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. No appointment necessary.
  • The Petaluma Health Center clinic is open Tuesday through Thursday at 1179 N. McDowell Blvd. 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Sonoma County Department of Health Services has also expanded testing possibilities in partnership with Curative, LHI, Molecular Matrix and Fox Home Health, which has increased the county’s capacity from 1,000 tests per week to 14,000 tests per week. week.

If you have symptoms or have been exposed to someone suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, you should be tested regardless of your vaccination status. Quarantine if you have been in close contact (within 6 feet of a person for a total of 15 minutes in a 24-hour period) with someone with COVID-19, unless you are fully vaccinated.

Fully vaccinated people do NOT need to self-quarantine after contact with someone with COVID-19, unless they are showing symptoms.

For more details or for appointments at COVID-19 testing clinics, including a pop-up testing schedule, please visit:

https://socoemergency.org/emergency/novel-coronavirus/testing-and-tracing/

Residents who need help making an immunization appointment can call Sonoma County Testing and Vaccine Hotline To
707-565-4667 (
4701 in Spanish).

COVID-19 Community Resources and Support

  • Free COVID-19 tests are available for tribal communities at the Sonoma County Indian Health Project. Call 707-521-4500 for details.
  • Listos California offers disaster preparedness information in native languages ​​to its
    Farmers initiative Web page.
  • Information for companies:
    SoCoLaunch.org.

More Sonoma County News

Emergency Preparedness Tips and Resources

  • As we continue the fire season, be sure to know your official evacuation area. Click the link for Sonoma County here:

    https://socoemergency.org/get-ready/evacuation-map/
  • Reminder to prevent equipment from starting fires due to mowing lawns, trailer chains, or driving over dry grass or brush, or with low tire pressure. For more information on CAL FIRE Equipment Safety, please visit:
    https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prevent-wildfire/equipment-use/.
  • Hot weather is here and everyone is at risk for heat related illness. Stay hydrated, limit your time outdoors, and watch out for those susceptible to heat-related illnesses. Here are some tips for staying cool and preparing for a heatwave:

    https://socoemergency.org/get-ready/local-hazards/heat-advisories/

  • Defendable space is essential to improving your home’s chances of surviving a wildfire. It is the buffer zone that you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wilderness that surrounds it. Learn how to build a defensible space around your home:
    https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/defensible-space/
  • Sonoma County strongly recommends subscribing to the following alert and warning systems:

    • SoCoAlert – When signing up for SoCoAlert, choose to receive alerts through landline calls, cell phone text messages, or pre-recorded verbal messages and emails. The system also works with telephones for the deaf.

    • Nixle – Receive emails and texts from local police and fire departments that include public safety messages as well as emergency information. Text your zip code to 888777 to sign up or sign up online to receive emails, texts or voicemail messages with alerts and tips.
    • Stay informed, subscribe to alerts on
      https://socoemergency.org/receive-alerts/.



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