LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Saturday, state health officials moved Lake County into the most restrictive COVID-19 tier in response to a sharp increase in cases that includes a doubling in hospitalizations, while the county’s sheriff said he will not enforce the heightened restrictions.
Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said Lake County is now in the purple tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy after weeks of being in the red, or second most restrictive, tier.
Lake is now among 51 of 58 counties in the purple tier, representing 39.7 million people or 99.1 percent of California's population.
Pace did not give an update on the total number of cases in Lake County. The last time Public Health updated the numbers on its website was Wednesday, and on Saturday those numbers remained unchanged, with 886 cases and 19 deaths reported.
Across California, the caseload continues to climb. The Public Health departments of the state’s 58 counties reported a total of approximately 1,195,649 cases and 19,122 deaths as of Saturday night.
Impacting Lake County’s caseload is an outbreak that is continuing in the Lake County Jail, Pace said.
In addition, Pace said a large case cluster has emerged in the Native American community, “a variety of businesses are experiencing new cases, and we see continued spread in households and social settings. Many people had smaller gatherings in observance of Thanksgiving, and we expect a significant post-holiday elevation in numbers.”
Over the course of the week, Lake County’s hospitalizations have nearly doubled. Pace said 11 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19-related issues on Friday, which is about twice the number of hospitalizations the county has had in the last month.
Pace said eight of those patients have since been transferred to other counties.
“Our hospitals are maintaining now, and plans are in place if there are significant surges,” he said.
Epidemiologist Sarah Marikos is tracking COVID-19 case trends in Lake County, and has found that the positivity rate has tripled over the last three weeks, from 1.9 percent to 6.3 percent, Pace said. During the same period, the county’s daily case rate increased about 2.5 times, from 5 to 13 per 100,000.
In addition, since mid-October, there has been a steady increase in the weekly number of cases, from a low of 21 per week to 57 in mid-November. For the week of Nov. 22 to 28, there already are 39 known cases, Pace reported.
Regarding how people are becoming infected, Pace said Marikos has found that from Nov. 1 to 20, nearly 2 in 5 cases – or 39 percent – are believed to have resulted from community contact, and about 1 in 3 via household contact.
“Limiting community transmission is key to decreasing the overall number of cases, and it will reduce the number of people who become infected through household contact,” said Pace.
Marikos’ research has found that in November, about 80 percent of the known cases lived in the following places: Kelseyville (26 percent of cases), Clearlake (21 percent), Lakeport (20 percent), Clearlake Oaks (8 percent) and Hidden Valley Lake (5 percent).
Cases in November have increased among white, non-Hispanic individuals and Native Americans, and there has been a decrease in Latino cases, Pace reported.
Lake County now under increased restrictions; sheriff won’t enforce orders
Along with being moved into the most restrictive COVID-19 tier comes enhanced restrictions on businesses and social movement in Lake County that Pace said will go into effect on Sunday in an effort to slow the spread of this virus.
Among the restrictions, schools that were already open can remain open, while schools that have not yet opened need to remain closed until the county returns to the red tier. Pace said elementary schools can apply for a waiver that may allow reopening.
As for businesses, Pace said hair salons, personal care services and barbershops can remain open with modifications, and retail establishments can open indoors with modifications and a maximum capacity of 25 percent.
Restaurants cannot have indoor dining and must go to outdoor-only with modifications. Also required to move to outdoors-only activities are museums, places of worship, and gyms and fitness centers, Pace said.
Only outdoor private gatherings are permitted, with modifications, with a maximum of three households for a two-hour duration.
Pace said Lake County also will now be under the limited stay at home order issued by the state Public Health officer on Nov. 19.
That order requires that all gatherings with members of other households and all activities conducted outside the residence, lodging or temporary accommodation with members of other households cease between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. “except for those activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure or required by law.” It doesn’t apply to the homeless.
The full order can be found here.
In response to the state’s action on Saturday, Sheriff Brian Martin – whose department for weeks has been working to control the jail outbreak – issued a statement on his Facebook page in which he said that Government Code Section 8627 authorizes the governor, during a state of emergency, to “promulgate, issue, and enforce such orders and regulations as are deemed necessary.”
Government Code Section 8567 states such orders “shall have the force and effect of law” and Section 8665 makes violation of such an order a misdemeanor, Martin said.
“However, section 26602 gives the sheriff the authority, but not the obligation to enforce such orders,” Martin noted.
“In accordance with the authority granted under section 26602, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office will not be determining compliance with, or enforcing compliance of any health or emergency orders related to curfews, staying at home, or other social gathering inside or outside the home, maximum occupancy, or mask mandates,” Martin said.
“Further, we will not dispatch deputies for these purposes; callers will be transferred or advised to contact the County Public Health Department, in accordance with Health and Safety Code section 101030. Of course, if there is potential criminal behavior or the potential for impacts to public or personal safety, we will continue to respond appropriately,” he said.
Martin concluded, “Please understand this applies only to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Other State, County, and City agencies may be actively enforcing these orders.”
Meanwhile, Pace is asking the community to take the coronavirus seriously. “It is spreading freely throughout the community now,” he said.
Pace added, “Stay home, wear masks, and be super careful. The next few months will be tough, but we will make it through this period a lot better off if we consider each other’s needs and vulnerabilities when we are thinking about going out and doing things with other people.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
State moves Lake County into most restricted COVID-19 tier; local hospitalizations increase
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On