To blunt the curve and save lives, California has introduced a Regional Stay-at-Home Order today for counties whose regional hospital systems fall under 15% ICU capacity. Although Nevada County is not immediately placed into a Stay-at-Home Order due to regional hospital capacity, the “Greater Sacramento” health system is projected to fall below 15% ICU capacity in early December and would move Nevada County into a Stay-at-Home Order for a minimum of 3 weeks with neighboring counties in the “Greater Sacramento” health system. Find more information about the possible Stay-at-Home Order at COVID19.ca.gov.
“We’re seeing a concerning increase in hospitalizations across the state, the region, and locally,” said Nevada County Public Health Director Jill Blake. “As a county with two small hospitals that regularly rely on the ability to transfer patients to hospitals outside our jurisdiction, it’s important to remember that there is a regionality to our healthcare system and that what happens in neighboring counties impacts us as well.”
In Nevada County, we’re experiencing an unprecedented escalation in new COVID-19 cases. From March through October, Nevada County had a total of 642 cases; in November, we had 706 new cases. At the end of October, we had 51 active cases and 2 hospitalizations, and as of today, we have 371 active cases and 17 hospitalizations. We anticipate another large increase in cases within the next 1-2 weeks from Thanksgiving activities and gatherings. Since mid-November there has been an 89% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations across California. Current projections show hospitalizations could increase 2-3 times the current amount in one month alone.
Join us Friday afternoon from 2pm-3pm on Zoom to learn about the individual actions required to protect our community and our essential workers. This is an urgent update that will feature reliable, expert information from those working on our local COVID-19 response including our two local hospitals, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital and Tahoe Forest Hospital, and our Public Health Department. What we all do these next couple weeks will be critical for our community’s health and economic well-being. Register at www.mynevadacounty.com/COVID19communityupdate.
To help keep the community informed, protect our essential workers, and to prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed, Nevada County plans to send out a CodeRED Emergency Alert to residents and visitors if Nevada County does move into a Stay-at-Home Order due to regional hospital capacity. Learn more and subscribe to CodeRED Emergency Alerts at www.readynevadacounty.org/codered.
For more information visit www.mynevadacounty.com/coronavirus, and to speak with a local call center representative, please call 211 Connecting Point at 1-833-DIAL211.