Press release from the Humboldt County Joint Information Center:

A total of 52 Humboldt County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, following confirmation of one additional case today.

Community transmission has been identified as the source of eight cases in Humboldt County. Twenty people acquired the virus through travel, and 23 had contact to a known case. The remaining case is under investigation.

Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich said community transmission is occurring but is slower than it otherwise would be because of shelter-in-place and other measures. “That’s a good thing,” she said. “Aggressive contact investigations by Public Health together with isolation and quarantine orders remain critically important to ongoing containment efforts.”

###

Today’s Lab Report:

Total new positive cases confirmed on April 15:

• 1

Daily COVID-19 case report for April 15

• Total number of positive cases: 52
• Total number of hospitalizations: 3

Total number of people tested by Public Health Laboratory:

• 901 

Total number of people tested by all other sources (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California Department of Public Health and commercial labs):

• 603 

The Public Health Laboratory currently has a capacity of approximately 600 tests and can process about 55 samples a day with an approximate turnaround time of 48 to 72 hours.

###

What do these numbers mean? 

• New positive cases—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the previous report.
• Total positive cases to date—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the pandemic began, including people who have recovered from the illness.
• Total hospitalizations to date—total number of COVID-positive people hospitalized since the pandemic began, including people who have been released.
• Total Public Health Lab tests to date—number of people whose sample was tested by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory.
• Total commercial lab tests to date—total number of tests performed by LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics. These non-local labs have a slower turnaround time than our local lab, primarily due to the time it takes local samples to be shipped elsewhere for testing.
• Public Health Lab test capacity—the approximate number of testing kits that are complete and ready to be administered. This number is decreased by testing and increased as additional supplies are acquired.
• Public Health Lab turnaround time—the estimated amount of time it takes per testing run. Each run can include up to 20 samples; multiple batches can be run each day.
• Transmission data
  • travel-acquired—nationally, internationally or regionally
  • contact to known case—an individual found to have been in direct contact with someone who tested positive for the virus
  • community transmission—spread without travel or known contact to any other positive case
  • under investigation—positive cases whose means of transmission has not yet been determined.

Notes on patient and demographic data

To protect the identity of people with COVID-19, their specific location of residence will not be disclosed. The Humboldt County Public Health Branch is legally responsible for protecting personal health information, including residence address, specific age, recent travel, the identities and locations of any contacts, the provider of medical treatment, the course of illness and any other information that might identify an individual with or exposed to the virus unless it serves the interests of public health to do so.

Although we understand it is of interest to residents, providing location and demographic information to the general public does nothing to slow the spread of illness. Humboldt County is experiencing untraceable person-to-person transmission, also known as “community spread,” and there is no place that can be considered safe. To reduce your chances of acquiring or spreading COVID-19, avoid travel, wash your hands, keep yourself and your environment clean, follow the shelter-in-place order, and do not leave home for any reason unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.

The following case information is provided daily Monday through Saturday:

• New positive cases
• Total positive cases to date
• Total hospitalizations to date
• Total Public Health Lab tests to date
• Total commercial lab tests to date
• Public Health Lab test capacity, total and daily, and estimated turnaround time
• Transmission data
  • travel-acquired
  • contact to known case
  • community transmission
  • under investigation

Additional information is provided each Friday:

• Regional data
  • currently measured by percentage in densely populated area
  • soon to be represented instead by region after minimum thresholds of positive cases per region have been reached
• Gender
• Mean age
• Test rates and positive test rates relative to the State of California.