Press release from the Humboldt County Public Health Division:

Humboldt County Public Health reported today the death of a resident in their 40s. No new hospitalizations were reported.

An additional 74 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 were announced as well as 43 new probable cases for the period between Tuesday, Oct. 11 and Tuesday, Oct. 18. The total number of confirmed cases in the county stands at 22,176. An additional 5,246 cases are reported as probable.* 

Following approval by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, bivalent boosters for young children are becoming available at all Public Health clinics throughout the county. The Moderna bivalent booster for children ages 6 and older is now available. In coming days, the Pfizer bivalent booster for children ages 5 and older will also begin distribution. Appointments are required and can be made at MyTurn.ca.gov.

Additionally, both of the bivalent boosters for teens and adults, the Moderna (18 and older) and Pfizer (12 and older) versions, continue to be available.  

All bivalent boosters are single-dose and include components of the original virus strain and the Omicron subvariants. People can receive the updated booster regardless of previous booster doses received. 

Local vaccination data has been updated on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard. Highlights include:

• Since the last weekly report on Oct. 12, an additional 89 residents completed their vaccine series.
• A total of 91,936 individuals, or approximately 68% of the county’s total population, have been fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.

On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California’s COVID-19 State of Emergency will end on Feb. 28, 2023. It was established at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 as COVID cases rose.

The State of Emergency allowed for increased flexibility and authority in implementing changes needed to slow the spread of the virus and mobilize resources to treat individuals who developed COVID-19. The end of the declaration will result in the phasing out of the nearly 600 emergency regulations and executive orders used to accomplish this.

The Governor’s office has noted that the timing of ending the State of Emergency several months out is designed to allow health care providers flexibility to handle a potential surge of winter infections.

OptumServe still offers rapid antigen testing and PCR testing services at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka seven days a week. Walk-ins will receive only rapid antigen testing unless the attendee specifically states they require a PCR test. Appointments for antigen testing can be made at lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 888-634-1123. Wharfinger testing runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is closed from 11 a.m. to noon and 4 to 5 p.m. 

See the schedule below for specific Public Health vaccination and testing clinic dates, times, locations and available services. 

Trinidad— Thursday, Oct. 20, 2 to 5 p.m.
     Trinidad Town Hall (409 Trinity St.)

Petrolia— Friday, Oct. 21, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 
     Mattole Resource Center (167 Sherman St.)

Honeydew— Friday, Oct. 21, 3:30 to 5 p.m. 
     Honeydew Elementary School (1 Wilder Ridge Road)

Eureka— Saturday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
     College of the Redwoods (7351 Tompkins Hill Road)

Eureka— Monday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch noon to 1 p.m.)
     Public Health Main (529 I St.)

Willow Creek— Tuesday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
     Willow Creek Public Health (77 Walnut Way)

Rio Dell— Wednesday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
     Rio Dell Fire Department (50 Center St.)

* “Confirmed cases” represent the total confirmed positive PCR test results or detection of SARS-CoV-2 by genomic sequencing, and “probable cases” are individuals who:

• Have a positive antigen (Ag) test for COVID-19, or
• Were diagnosed with COVID-19 disease by a health care provider, or
• Have symptoms of COVID-19 disease after being in close contact with a person having a PCR-confirmed test result, or
• Were a decedent whose death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause or significant contributing factor of their death, in the absence of a positive PCR test result.  

 

Sign up for COVID-19 vaccination: MyTurn.ca.gov
Check for vaccine availability at a local pharmacy: Vaccines.gov
Local COVID-19 vaccine information: humboldtgov.org/VaccineInfo
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/3246
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert

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