SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County’s Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye signaled cautious optimism Thursday as the latest COVID-19 surge may be nearing a plateau in Sacramento County.
Despite those signs of a potential plateau, Public Health says county hospitals are still overwhelmed and urged people to reserve 911 and emergency department resources for people with severe symptoms.
Janna Haynes, spokesperson for Public Health, said 25% of people seeking treatment through those avenues had mild symptoms or were looking for a test.
"For people that are not experiencing life threatening symptoms, emergency services are not the right resource to seek treatment," Haynes said. "While potentially uncomfortable and an interruption to daily life, mild symptoms such as cough, sore throat, congestion, low grade fever, headache and fatigue can be treated with over the counter (OTC) medications and will likely resolve in a matter of days."
She said that while the county is starting see a plateau of new COVID-19 cases, the number of daily cases is still extremely high.
The county continues to average 3,000 reported positive cases per day, though the amount of people dying from the virus has significantly dropped off compared to the same time last year, according to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard. The last reported coronavirus related death occurred on Jan. 8, 2022.
There are 588 people hospitalized with coronavirus in Sacramento County, 92 of which are being treated in area intensive care units.
Of those nearly 600 hospitalizations, 22 are children.
The latest surge follows predictions of high case numbers following the winter holidays where many people gathered with others outside their households and traveled away from their homes.
GENERAL GUIDANCE FOR THE PUBLIC:
Health officials continue to stress that getting fully vaccinated and boosted is the best way to protect yourself and your community from the threat of the coronavirus.
“Vaccination remains the safest strategy to prevent future infection, severe disease and death,” Dr. Kasirye said.
She urged those who are immunocompromised to take extra precautions and reminded everyone to consider the risks of partaking in large scale events, but reiterated that the county will continue to follow state guidance as it pertains to large events, such as those that take place at Golden 1 Center.
If you are experiencing symptoms, you should stay home to prevent spread and if necessary seek medical attention.
STAFFING AND SUPPLIES REMAIN A CHALLENGE:
The county system continues to be challenged by a limited supply of COVID-19 tests, life saving therapeutics, and N-95 masks, Dr. Kasirye said.
The county doled out 91,000 rapid COVID-19 tests at area libraries at the start of January, however, supplies ran out quickly. Sacramento County Health officials encourage those looking for at-home tests to request them through a new Federal program which allows 4 tests per household.
Sacramento County Public Health is being allocated a very limited supply of life saving therapeutics including Paxlovid, Sotrovimab, Molnupiravir, and Evusheld. Doses of those therapeutics are being re-allocated to hospitals and jails.
Hospitals across the state have reported major staffing challenges while dealing with the latest surge. Hospitals say staff members are being hit hard by coronavirus, forcing many to isolate and preventing them from being able to work.
This, on top of a high turnover rate being experienced in the medical field across the nation since the pandemic began. Some reports have estimated as many as 20 percent of health care workers have left the field, citing burnout and ongoing health issues like depression.
OFFICIALS WORK TO KEEP SCHOOLS OPEN:
Keeping children in schools remains a high priority for both health and education officials in the county, Sacramento County Public Health Program Planner Nick Mori said during the call.
At this time, there are no set case thresholds for school closure, Mori said. There have been a handful of brief individual classroom closures in Sacramento County, those were conducted on a case by case basis.
“We know schools are essential to the emotional well-being of children and keeping them open for in-person instruction remain a priority,” Mori said.
Schools in the area continue to feel significant impacts from the latest surge of coronavirus following a return from winter break.
Mori says there is no specific indications that transmission is happening on campuses. Contact tracing efforts have found that many students in the county were likely exposed outside of school, likely at family social gatherings over the holidays.
CASES DROP AT DOWNTOWN JAIL, RISE AT RIO COSUMNES CORRECTIONAL CENTER
Cases at Sacramento County’s main jail in downtown have dropped from 76 cases last week to 47 cases Thursday.
The number of positive coronavirus cases have more than doubled at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center (RCCC) since last week, jumping from 123 cases compared to 49 last week.
“We continue to provide consultation with correctional health in helping to make sure cases that are identified are isolated,” Dr. Kasirye said.
AREA HOSPITALS TO BECOME SURGE FACILITIES
The University of California Davis Medical Center and Kaiser South Sacramento Medical Center are now state surge hospitals, part of a state-wide effort to increase hospital capacity in the event that additional space will be needed.
Nearly 200 facilities across the state will expand capacity across the state, according to the California Emergency Medical Services Authority. They are deploying 2,600 medical to support facilities across the state.
RESPONSE TO THE UNHOUSED
Liz Gomes, Health Program Manager for Sacramento County Health Department, says the county is working directly with shelter partners to make sure testing kits get out to the unhoused community. On a case-by-case basis, the county is sending testing teams out to shelters when needed.
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