Here’s what we know about Sacramento area’s COVID-19 surge, masks, hospitals and variants
Another surge in coronavirus cases has hit the Sacramento region as the spread of the Delta variant continues to grow and worry health officials.
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to soar in Sacramento County. Yolo County health officials are recommending that all residents wear masks indoors and get tested after exposure to the virus.
The number of hospitalized patients in El Dorado reached its highest mark this week since January. And like the three other counties, Placer County is showing signs coronavirus is spreading as the COVID-19 positivity rate continued to inch higher Wednesday. Vaccination rates in nearby Yuba and Sutter counties are dismal.
Here’s what we know about this latest coronavirus surge:
Sacramento County spike in COVID-19 cases
Sacramento County’s daily case rate has jumped from four per 100,000 residents to 10 per 100,000 in just under three weeks, according to the local health office’s data dashboard. Positivity has surged in the same stretch from 1.7% to 4.5%, its highest point since mid-February.
And there are now 112 virus patients in Sacramento County hospitals, the California Department of Public Health reported Wednesday, exactly double the total reported July 1.
State health officials in a weekly update last Thursday reported that Delta made up 43% California’s case samples from June that had their genome sequences tested for variants up to that point.
Sacramento County health officials have identified at least 101 confirmed cases caused by the Delta variant, but have not said what percentage of samples that represents.
That’s because Sacramento’s variant cases aren’t a random sampling, instead made up mostly of specimens from hospitalized cases, cases in fully vaccinated residents and cases linked to outbreaks. This means they are not necessarily representative of all cases among the general population, county epidemiology program manager Jamie White recently explained, and testing is being prioritized this way because genotype lab resources are limited.
Yolo County masks advisory
However, in Yolo County, where there is more robust and frequent testing for variants due to a local partnership with the UC Davis Genome Center, officials said Delta made up 76% of positive case samples collected from June 27 to July 7.
Health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson on Wednesday issued an advisory strongly recommending Yolo County residents wear masks in most indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status, in response to increasing prevalence of the variant.
Yolo County’s seven-day test positivity rate was the best in the Sacramento region at 1.2%, the highest mark since Feb. 19, according to CDPH data.
As of Tuesday, state health officials reported nine people infected with the virus in the county were hospitalized; seven of them were in intensive care units. That’s the largest number of hospitalized patients since March 2, when there were 11 in the county.
El Dorado County hospital patients
The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in largely rural El Dorado County on Monday reached its highest mark since Jan. 29, when the county had 15, according to CDPH. There were 13 COVID-19 patients in hospitals there Monday, which dropped to 12 on Tuesday with three in ICU. The county did not report any additional COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday evening.
The county’s test positivity rate was 4.3%, the highest seven-day average since Feb. 19 and spiking from 0.9% on June 1, according to CDPH.
The statewide positivity rate reached 3% as of Wednesday and has more than quadrupled from the record low of 0.7% reached in early June, which held steady there for a few days before it started climbing again.
Placer County Delta variant spread
Placer County health director Dr. Robert Oldham says Delta variant cases there are growing. He said those numbers may not be reflective of the current status because the test results are coming from weeks old cases.
Oldham said they are still receiving larger numbers of B.1.1.7 (Alpha variant), and based on national and global Delta transmission trends, it’s “reasonable to presume that it will become the dominant variant if it hasn’t already.”
The test positivity rate in Placer County was 4.5%, the highest seven-day average since Feb. 8, according to state data. There were 48 people with the virus in hospitals there as of Tuesday, with 11 of them in ICU beds. That’s the most number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients since May 11.
Sacramento region vaccination rates
About 47% of Sacramento County residents are fully vaccinated, compared to 52% statewide, according to state health data. Of the five others in the six-county capital region — El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba — only Yolo has cracked 50% full vaccination, matching the state at 52%.
Yuba and Sutter have the region’s lowest rates, at 30% and 37% of their populations fully vaccinated, respectively. Sacramento and El Dorado are each at 47% and Placer is at 49%.
Yuba County had nine COVID-19 patients in hospitals Tuesday; two in ICU, according to CDPH. Sutter did not have any patients hospitalized. The seven-day positivity rate was 6.5% in Yuba; its highest mark since Feb. 18. Sutter’s positivity rate was 6%, the highest since Feb. 21.
Statewide, 41% of Californians of all ages have yet to be inoculated, and the coronavirus is spreading mostly among unvaccinated people, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. New daily coronavirus cases have nearly tripled over the last month, from about 900 a day to more than 2,600 a day; hospitalizations have jumped by nearly 75%, from 915 to 1,594.
