PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — Cases of COVID-19 fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant are not letting up.
In Placer County, cases are hitting new record numbers. Last winter, the hospitalization high was 208 people. This week, a new high of 220. The ICU number of 47 people is also a new record.
"Delta is finding the unvaccinated and spreading very efficiently," said Placer County Health Director Dr. Rod Oldham.
Now, the county's health department has put out a recommendation to wear an N-95 mask indoors over a surgical mask or any other mask.
"So both of them are great, but you can see how this is hard and has a little bit more and is really specifically designed to stop the virus particles," Oldham said, comparing both the N-95 and surgical masks during a Zoom call.
In San Joaquin County, Tuesday alone there were 345 new cases. On the same date a year ago there were 63. The public health officer says cases are yet to peak and the patients that are coming in are younger.
"The average age of the people in our hospitals is going down, statewide and countywide. So, I would tell people who are younger it's also time for them to get vaccinated," said Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer.
In Stanislaus County, cases are surging as well. On July 5, a summertime low, there were 0 cases with a 7-day average case rate of 15. As of Tuesday, there were 319 cases in a single day with a 7-day average of 283.
At St. John Episcopal Church in Stockton, 62-year old Gary Marshall finally got the COVID vaccine at a homeless outreach event put on by the non-profit, Uplift All Foundation.
Why did he wait?
"I never took the time. I never took the time," said Marshall, a former warehouse worker and forklift driver.
Oldham says cases are spreading in some school classrooms in Placer County. He says it is something he is watching "very carefully" saying that "everybody wants to preserve as much in-person instruction as possible."
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