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Humboldt County Public Health confirmed three new COVID-19 tests today, making just five over the past three days — a welcome lull in a surge that has now seen 131 cases confirmed so far this month.

Today's cases come after Public Health tested 301 samples with a positivity rate of about 1 percent.

Humboldt County Deputy Health Officer Josh Ennis noted in a press release that demographic data on the county’s known cases demonstrates that there are disproportionate impacts to the Latinx and Hispanic community and, as the county has seen more recently, to Native Americans.

“It’s important to point out that this is not due to any increased risk-taking activity or lack of adherence to safety measures,” Ennis said. “People working on the front lines in service and agricultural sectors, for example, may have more workplace exposures to the general public or co-workers. Public Health and our response partners continue to work with our entire community to limit spread of this virus, especially in groups that are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.”

Ennis went on to say that Public Health will e hosting a Spanish-language virtual town hall meeting in partnership with LainoNet, Centro del Pueblo and the Humboldt County Office of Education from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday looking to bring information and answer questions.

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

To date, Humboldt county has seen 364 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 21 hospitalizations and four deaths. Nationally, 5.8 million cases have been confirmed with 178,998 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. California, meanwhile, has recorded 683,529 confirmed cases with 12,550 deaths, 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.