Coronavirus surges as visitation increases, tourism workforce at highest risk
Coronavirus cases continue to surge locally and statewide; Several new cases in Mono County linked to Mammoth restaurants; Service industry workers, Latino community continue to be at a higher risk
The coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to increase at alarming rates in California this week and three more counties including Napa, Yolo, and San Benito were added to state monitoring list today, which now includes 26 of the state’s 58 counties.
On Tuesday, the state recorded 11,694 positive tests, an extremely high number that includes a backlog of tests from LA County. The seven day average is now at 8,116 per day with the positivity rate of 7.1 percent, up from the previous seven-day average of 6,062 cases and a 5.1 percent positivity rate. Hospitalization rates are up 44 percent over the past 14 days and the state is now seeing younger patients.
Gov. Newsom recognized that essential workers who are now getting sick, are mostly food workers, farm workers and grocery store workers, and tend to be younger individuals and disproportionately brown and black.
“It is incumbent upon us, as we meet the needs of this surge that we are mindful of these essential workers and have their best interests at heart as we move forward,” Newsom said.
Nine new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Mono County, specifically in the Mammoth area, over the past seven days and several of the new cases have links to local restaurants, according to Mono County Public Health. None of the new cases have been hospitalized though half of them have been symptomatic.
“We certainly expected an increase in cases with an increase in economic activity and movement, although this increment seems rather sharp and somewhat alarming to me,” Public Health Officer Dr. Boo told the Board of Supervisors in the regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday morning.
“We need to complete investigations over the next week or so before drawing any conclusions,” Dr. Boo said, “I do have concerns about service industry establishments that have been impacted and we are trying to understand better the extent of those things.”
Most of the original cases in March were restaurant workers, Dr. Boo told me. With re-opening of businesses and tourism, members of the service industry and Latino community continue to be at a higher risk, according to Mono County Public Health.
Mono County has not recorded ethnic or racial data, however the state is reporting that more than 54 percent of cases and 42 percent of deaths are Latino while only accounting for 38 percent of the population.
The county has the ability to be more restrictive than the state, meaning the public health department could shut down high risk businesses preventatively, though Dr. Boo says he wants to “complete the contact investigations and get a little bit more data” before scaling back.
State guidelines include a few metrics for its watch list including under 100 positive tests per 100K residents or a positive test rate of 8 percent, and increasing hospitalization rates. Once a county reaches these metrics it is placed on the list for three days and then, potentially, required to roll back business operations for three weeks at a minimum.
Even with the recent surge in cases locally, Mono County’s positivity rate is 2.5 percent over the last seven-day average, which is significantly less than the state metric.
Dr. Boo recommends restaurant workers wear a higher-grade medical mask like a surgical mask or N95 rather than a homemade cloth mask. He also recommended protective eye wear.
“I don’t know if the higher level of PPE will prove to be enough, but it is rational and something that can be done in the short term,” he said.
While some residents have expressed concern about visitors being tested while vacationing here, the public health department explained that there is a set of criteria for being tested, including residency. There is not a shortage of tests, but results have slowed recently due to a lab backlogs statewide and results are taking anywhere from 2 to 5 days currently.
As of Wednesday, there are 289,468 positive cases of COVID-19 in California and 6,562 total deaths. Mono County has confirmed 48 cases and one death. Inyo County has confirmed 35 cases, up three cases since last week, and one death.
The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving. ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Mammoth Hospital Receives Significant Federal Assistance Loan
The US Treasury Department released a detailed breakdown of the federal government’s paycheck protection program on Monday. Notably, Southern Mono Healthcare District (dba Mammoth Hospital) received 5-10 million dollars. Northern Inyo Healthcare District received 2-5 million and Southern Inyo received 1-2 million.
The Small Business Administration loans were created with the intention of incentivizing small businesses to “keep their workers on the payroll.” To qualify for loan forgiveness, businesses needed to be re-opened and retaining jobs by June 30. It is unclear how loan forgiveness will be affected if businesses are ordered to close again.
The PPP program re-opened for applications through August 8. The Mono County Economic Development Department is assisting local businesses with the application process.
The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.
Recommended Reading
Restaurants: With COVID-19 spike, bars and restaurants could remain closed for the foreseeable future The LA Times
Outdoors: How the Outdoor Industry Responded to Coronavirus by Chris Solomon for Outside Magazine
Conservation: Lockdowns Could Be the ‘Biggest Conservation Action’ in a Century by Ben Goldfarb for The Atlantic
Adventure: The Mountain Biker Who Vanished Without a Trace by Jon Billman, an excerpt from his new book THE COLD VANISH
Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must. ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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