No new local COVID 19 cases confirmed today

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

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.