- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Public Health officer reports on latest COVID-19-related deaths, releases race and ethnicity case data
Lake County’s COVID-19 cases increased to 658 on Friday, up 17 over the previous day and 30 over the previous Friday, according to Lake County Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Public Health said 55 cases are active and being monitored, and two patients currently are hospitalized, bringing the total of all cases hospitalized to 40. Another 588 have recovered.
This week, two additional deaths have occurred, bringing the total to 15, Public Health reported.
Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said the 14th death was an individual older than age 65 who had a previous history of medical issues and was hospitalized at the time of death.
The 15th death, reported to Public Health on Friday, was an individual who was over age 60 and died following a lengthy COVID-related hospitalization, Pace said.
Statewide, county Public Health departments reported a total of 16,905 deaths as of Friday night, with more than 871,000 confirmed cases.
Lake’s neighboring counties reported the following total caseloads and deaths as of Friday: Colusa, 545 cases, six deaths; Glenn, 639 cases, three deaths; Mendocino, 1,080 cases, 21 deaths; Napa, 1,851 cases, 14 deaths; Sonoma, 8,717 cases, 129 deaths; and Yolo, 3,034 cases, 56 deaths.
The California Department of Public Health said Friday that local health departments have reported 41,984 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 194 deaths statewide.
The state also said that as of Friday there have been 16,621,956 tests conducted in California, an increase of 104,144 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.
‘Significant disparities’ emerge
In his Friday report, Pace said directing additional resources to disadvantaged communities and essential front-line workers are critical in addressing the impacts of the virus.
“Despite our efforts, significant disparities have emerged. Those that live in crowded conditions, work in settings requiring close contact with people outside of their household, and those with little available paid sick time have been infected at higher rates,” he said.
He said moving to less restrictive tiers of the state’s COVID-19 framework and further invigorating the local economy will require targeted interventions. “Those at disproportionate risk need resources: additional testing, services, and education to help people stay off work and out of the public when they are infected.”
In response to new requirements from the state that case race and ethnicity data be reported, Pace said infection rates in Lake County are two to three times higher among the Latino or Hispanic population and two times greater in Native American communities as compared to the general population data.
He said 49.9 percent of Lake County’s cases have affected Latino or Hispanic individuals, and 6.2 percent of those infected have been Native American.
The latest American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau shows that Hispanics or Latinos make up 20 percent of the Lake County population – which numbers just above 64,000 residents – while Native Americans account for 5.2 percent.
“Regrettably, these groups are facing more problems with access to services and greater pressures to work, even when exposed to the virus,” Pace said. “The county of Lake’s Health Services Department is committed to acting on these disparities, and we submitted a plan to the state this week.”
The California Department of Public Health reported that Latinos have accounted for 61.1 percent of the state’s total cases and 48.6 percent of all deaths. African Americans account for 4.2 percent of cases and 7.5 percent of deaths, Native Americans or Alaska Natives account for 1.1 percent of cases and 0.7 percent of deaths. Whites make up 17.4 percent of cases and 30.1 percent of deaths.
Pace said the state has also encouraged local jurisdictions to regularly publish data regarding caseloads in groups with the highest rates of COVID-19 infection, and Pace said Public Health will start doing that next week.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is set to approve a resolution accepting unanticipated funds, including $463,702 from the federal government, for COVID-19 testing and epidemiological surveillance-related activities, including enhancing Public Health surveillance systems and COVID-19 crisis response.
“Directing resources where the need is greatest just makes sense, and we are grateful federal and state funding is available to support enhanced effort,” Pace said.
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