Coronavirus cases explode in California as Mono County opens to tourism
Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Boo says “It’s just a matter of time” until Mono County sees a surge.
By Monica Prelle
Cases of the coronavirus have exploded in California with hospitalizations increasing at alarming rates, 56 percent over 14 days, statewide. In the past week, the state has averaged 5,837 new cases and 65.9 new deaths per day, according to LA Times reporting. Records have been shattered in recent days.
In response to alarming infection rates, Gov. Gavin Newsom started reinstating restrictions this week.
Over the weekend, Imperial County in Southern California was ordered to stay-at-home again, and today Gov. Newsom ordered bars, indoor restaurant service and other indoor entertainment business operations to close in 19 counties on the state monitoring list.
“Bottom line is the spread of this virus continues at a rate that is particularly concerning,” Gov. Newsom said in a press conference. “We’re seeing parts of the state where we are seeing an increase in not only the total number of positive cases, but a significant increase in the total number of people that are getting tested that are testing positive.”
On Wednesday, the United States reached the 50,000-cases per day threshold, an increase of 82 percent over the last 14-day period, according to John Hopkins University data. More than 10 million people around the world have tested positive and there are more than 500,000 global deaths.
“Although many countries have made some progress, globally, the pandemic is actually speeding up,” World Health Organization Chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday at a press conference in Geneva. “We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives, but the hard reality is that this is not even close to being over.”
“The worst is yet to come,” he said.
Here in Mono County, there have been no new hospitalizations since March and the county is not flagged on the state monitoring list. But with the region now open to tourism and increasing infections around the state, it seems inevitable that the county will also see a spike in infections.
“We are real concerned about what is happening all around us and across the United States,” Mono County Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Boo said. “It’s just an amount of time, a lag time. Many visitors are coming from areas with rising rates of infections, so we will be seeing it here.”
In the past week, Los Angeles County has reported the highest number of new positive cases in the country and is breaking its own daily infection rate records. The county is now at risk for running out of hospital beds, LA County public health officials said on Monday.
According to Mammoth Lakes Tourism, 70 percent of Mammoth’s visitors are from around the state and 40 percent of those visitors are from Los Angeles.
Dr. Boo expressed serious concern about the influx of tourism and said that the county may consider “throttling back” on hotel and lodging occupancy.
Since the short-term lodging order was lifted last week, Mammoth hotel operators are restricted to 75 percent average weekly occupancy and rooms must remain empty for 24 hours before renting again. According to its occupancy report, The Village is booked at 96 percent on Saturday, the Fourth of July.
Public health experts are now saying that community spread in California started during the week of Memorial Day. With a two-week incubation period and another week for sick people to become hospitalized. Officials are worried about the upcoming holiday weekend and recommend that residents avoid social gatherings, keep distancing, wear masks while in public, and be diligent in hand washing.
“There is evidence that face coverings, distancing and other precautions work,” Dr. Boo said, urging residents and visitors to be diligent. This week the county revised and reissued the local order mandating face coverings in all public places including outdoors spaces when distancing is not possible.
Mono County reported three new positive cases last weekend and one this weekend, bringing the two-week total to 4 new cases of the coronavirus. One of the new cases, however, was not a resident and was visiting from Southern California, but tested here. There are currently 97 tests pending.
As of Wednesday, there are 237,068 positive cases of COVID-19 in California and 6,152 total deaths. Mono County has confirmed 41 cases and one death. Inyo County has confirmed 32 cases and one death.
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Monica Prelle is a Mammoth Lakes-based journalist currently reporting on COVID-19.