Here’s how the COVID surge is affecting Elk Grove — ‘it’s a fluid situation,’ mayor says
Elk Grove is a COVID-19 hot spot, posting some of Sacramento County’s highest infection rates since December and the numbers have only risen in recent days as city officials on Wednesday urged residents to “do better” to help slow omicron’s spread.
Nearly 3,000 cases have been logged in the last 30 days in the city’s two largest ZIP codes: east Elk Grove’s 95624 and the 95757 neighborhoods, west of Highway 99, as the virus’ highly contagious omicron variant races through California.
The 7-day average case rate in the 95757 ZIP code as of Jan. 7 was 222.5 per 100,000 people, Elk Grove’s highest, and far above the Sacramento County average of 165.5 per 100,000 for the same 7-day period, according to city of Elk Grove data released Wednesday. Case rates were somewhat lower in the east side 95624 at 185.4 per 100,000; and in the westside neighborhoods of 95758, where 7-day rates were at 177.4.
Elk Grove has 23,391 reported cases of COVID-19, according to Sacramento County Public Health, a little more than 10% of the county’s 204,336 total cases confirmed during the course of the nearly two-year pandemic. The virus has killed 211 people in Elk Grove.
“We need to do better. Each of us has the ability and the resources available to protect ourselves, those we love, and vulnerable populations,” city officials said in social media posts Wednesday, calling on residents to wear masks in indoor public spaces, maintain distance and get vaccinations and booster shots.
The numbers in Elk Grove reflect the battle waged against the virus statewide. California’s daily case rate has skyrocketed to record highs well past the peak of the delta winter surge of 2020. Test positivity is at 23.1%. The daily case rate is 193 per 100,000 residents, the California Department of Public Health reported Wednesday.
Sacramento County added more than 3,600 new confirmed cases on Wednesday alone, health officials reported.
Just months ago, more than eight in 10 Elk Grove residents in the 95757 ZIP code area had received vaccinations. That percentage was lower in the eastern 95624 where nearly 73% of residents 12 years and older got the jab. About 80% of city staffers had also been vaccinated for COVID, convincing city leaders to forego a vaccine mandate for city employees.
Elk Grove vaccination rates remain high, city officials said Wednesday. Nearly 85% of residents in the 95757 ZIP code are fully vaccinated — the highest rate in the city and above the state’s 80% vaccination rate. In the 95624 and 95758 ZIP codes, 75% of residents are fully vaccinated, according to the city’s data.
Elk Grove residents “are doing the responsible thing. They’re getting vaccinated,” Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said Wednesday. “The vaccine is not meant to be a cure, but it is a layer of protection that keeps us away from the hospital, ventilators and death.”
Singh-Allen said Elk Grove officials are monitoring this latest surge in tandem with Sacramento County health officials. City Council meetings are again being conducted virtually and the city is posting reminders to residents to avoid large crowds, maintain social distancing and get the jab and its boosters.
“The data doesn’t lie,” Singh-Allen said. “It’s a fluid situation, but we have to be persistent and resilient. We’re all in this together. The best thing we can do is to get vaccinated.”
“The situation and numbers continue to change quickly day-to-day,” city officials said in the message to residents Wednesday, adding both city and county officials “continue to evaluate the need for any changes in daily life, like mask mandates and other measures to protect the public health.”
Meanwhile, the number of new cases has Elk Grove Unified School District — Northern California’s largest school district — adjusting contact tracing at its campuses. District officials in a community letter to parents Tuesday said students and staff will remain in school, but are “streamlining our contract tracing efforts.”
District officials will now send emails notifying all who share a classroom with someone who was found to have tested positive for the virus instead of phoning each student’s family.
Children who are exposed, fully vaccinated with two vaccine doses and asymptomatic, may stay in school and will not need to get tested. Those children who have been exposed, are not fully vaccinated and do not have symptoms may stay in school, but will need to be tested on day 5 to curb the potential of further spread.
Those who have symptoms will be isolated and sent home. Isolation can end after the fifth day for those who test positive if they no longer show symptoms or if their symptoms are resolving and they test negative on day 5 or later, officials said.
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