Public health
A Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory employee processes a COVID-19 test.
Another Humboldt County resident has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the county’s total to 99. according to today’s report from Public Health.
Three Humboldt County residents have died of the highly contagious virus, including one death reported yesterday. All were residents of Alder Bay Assisted Living Facility in Eureka. Read this week’s stories
here and
here.
There were no confirmed cases yesterday and four on Wednesday, all of which were acquired through contact with another known case, continuing a spike that had seen 45 new cases confirmed since May 9.
According to Public Health, about 4.4 percent of Humboldt County's population has been tested to date.
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 covidinfo@co.humboldt.ca.us or at (707) 441-5000.
Residents seeking medical advice or questions about testing are asked to contact Public Health at hhsphb@co.humbldt.ca.us 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.
Read the Public Health report below:
One new case of COVID-19 was confirmed today, bringing to 99 the total number of Humboldt County residents who have tested positive for the virus.
The following information is based on the most recent data available for all confirmed cases:
Contact to a Known Case: 58
Travel-Acquired: 24
Community Transmission: 17
Under Investigation: 0
Positive cases by region:
Northern Humboldt: 18
Greater Humboldt Bay Area: 77
Southern Humboldt: 4
Males: 41%
Females: 59%
Mean age: 47
Age Range
0-19: 8
20-29: 13
30-39: 19
40-49: 17
50-59: 11
60-69: 21
70-79: 3
80+: 7
Estimated testing rates:
Humboldt County: 4,424 per 100,000 residents
California: 4,483 per 100,000 residents
United States: 4,749 per 100,000 residents
Estimated rate of confirmed cases:
Humboldt County: 73 per 100,000 residents
California: 261 per 100,000 residents
United States: 527 per 100,000 residents