No New Positive Cases: April 17 Public Health Report

Press release from Humboldt County COVID19 – Joint Information Center:

Humboldt County’s total case count remains 52 as no new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed today.

Social distancing and other measures have been successful in limiting COVID-19 transmission, according to Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich. “The goal as we move forward is to always have the pace of growth in cases at a level that allows the health care system to meet the need. This will be critically important as we look toward easing shelter-in-place regulations down the road.”

Dr. Frankovich cautioned that the virus is still circulating in our community. “We all must understand that even small, incremental changes in our current order are likely to lead to some increase in transmission,” she said. “The situation will need to be monitored closely, and we will have to have all of our infrastructure in place, such as robust testing, adequate case investigation capacity and other measures in the Governor’s framework.”

A total of 1,614 county residents have been tested since the outbreak began. Humboldt County’s testing rate of 1,137 per 100,000 residents exceeds the estimated state rate of 666 per 100,000 and the national rate of 1,075 per 100,000 people. The rate of confirmed cases in the county stands at 38 per 100,000 residents, with the state rate nearly double that at an estimated 72 cases per 100,000. The estimated U.S. rate is 209 confirmed cases per 100,000 people.

The following information is based on the most recent data available for all confirmed cases:

• Contact to a Known Case: 23
• Travel-Acquired: 20
• Community Transmission: 8
• Under Investigation: 1
• Approximately 83% of cases are located in or around Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville and Fortuna
• Males: 48%
• Females: 52%
• Mean age: 45

Press release from Humboldt County COVID19 – Joint Information Center:

Total new positive cases confirmed on April 17: 0

Daily COVID-19 case report for April 17

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

Total number of people tested by Public Health Laboratory: 985

Total number of people tested by all other sources: 629
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California Department of Public Health and commercial labs)

The Public Health Laboratory currently has a capacity of approximately 500 tests and can process about 50 samples a day with an approximate turnaround time of 48 to 72 hours.

For the most recent information about COVID-19, visit CDC.gov or CDPH.ca.gov. For local information, visit humboldtgov.org, call 707-441-5000 or email [email protected].

For the most recent COVID-19 information, visit cdc.gov or cdph.ca.gov. Local information is available at humboldtgov.org or during business hours by contacting [email protected] or calling 707-441-5000.

What do these numbers mean? 

• Total new positive cases—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the previous report.
• Total number of positive cases—the number of test-confirmed positive cases since the pandemic began, including people who have recovered from the illness.
• Total number of hospitalizations—total number of COVID-positive people hospitalized since the pandemic began, including people who have been released.
• Total number of people tested by Public Health Lab Laboratory—number of people whose sample was tested by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory.
• Total number of people tested by all other sources—total number of tests performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics. 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 case whose means of transmission has not yet been determined.

• Regional data
  • Currently measured by percentage of positive cases living in a densely populated area.
  • Soon to be represented instead by region after minimum thresholds of positive cases per region have been reached.
• Gender—the gender of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. Total cases, shown by percentage.
• Mean age—the average age of all the individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. Average age is calculated by adding all the ages of individuals together and dividing by the number of cases.
• Test rates and positive test rates relative to the State of California—the number of tests performed per 100,000 people. Numbers of tests performed are provided by the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, CDPH and the CDC. Population estimates are based on data from the United States Census Bureau. Rates are calculated by dividing the total number of tests performed by the population of the jurisdiction.

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.

Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19,
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19,
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19, and
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert

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APR17 Case Count

For Redheaded Blackbelt’s most recent stories about COVID-19, click here.
Earlier test results:

• Second Case of COVID-19 Confirmed in Humboldt County Today (March 20)
• Local Health Officials Confirmed Today a Third Person Tested Positive for Novel COVID-19 (March 24)
• March 24 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• March 25: Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• March 26: Two More COVID-19 Cases, One Hospitalized
• March 27 By the Numbers: Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• Four More Positive Cases–March 28 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• Three More Positive Cases–March 30 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• Six New Cases: March 31 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• Total of 28 Cornavirus Cases After One New Positive Test Today: April 1 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• Nine New COVID-19 Cases Confirmed Today: April 2 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• Forty Total Positive Tests: April 3 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• Forty-Four Total Cases: April 4 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• 49 Total Positive Tests: April 6 Results on COVID-19 Testing From the County of Humboldt
• 50 Positive Cases in Humboldt County: April 7 Results on COVID-19 Testing
• No New Positive COVID-19 Tests in Humboldt County: April 8 Results
• No New Positive COVID-19 Tests in Humboldt County for the Second Day in a Row: April 9 Results
• Third Day in a Row With No New Positive Cases: April 10 Results for Positive COVID-19 Tests
• 4th Day in a Row With no New Positive Cases
• Our Last Positive Result Was a Week Ago,” Says Public Health Officer; April 13 Test Results
• One New Positive Case of COVID-19: April 14 Test Results
• Another Positive Test: April 15 Public Health Lab Report
• No New Positive Cases in April 16 Public Health Lab Report