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CALIFORNIA - Sonoma County
First coronavirus patient dies in Sonoma County, same day local cases doubled to 22
A Sonoma County resident died Friday after contracting the coronavirus and being hospitalized for serious illness, marking the first known death in the county from the fast-moving disease that has led California Gov. Gavin Newsom to ask all Californians to stay home.
Interim Public health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said she received the news of a death “with great sadness,” the same day the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus among Sonoma County residents doubled to 22. A source with Sutter Santa Rosa confirmed the person died Friday afternoon.
[...]
“We need to be prepared for a worsening situation here over the next week,” said Mase, noting that “every case infects another three, so the more cases we have the more cases we get, so this is exactly what we expected.”
[...]
The rise in positive coronavirus test results indicates that the virus is spreading within the community, said Susan Gorin, chairwoman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, noting that this didn’t come as a surprise to her. She emphasized her belief that the county had sufficient testing capacity for the expected rise in caseload: “We will be on top of this in terms of test kits that we need.”
[...]
One of the county’s top priorities is getting more space and medical beds outside of hospitals in the event the number of people needing to be hospitalized with coronavirus exceeds the capacity of its three main hospitals, said Chris Godley, director of the county’s emergency services department.
They are working to find at least two properties where they can establish makeshift hospitals staffed by a combination of volunteers with the Medical Reserve Corps, retired doctors, nursing students and others. ...
Godley said he had no information about when the county might need such added facilities because the limited data from testing doesn’t show the full scope of the virus’s prevalence here, but that he believes the county is “ahead of the curve on this one, quite literally.”
[...]
Some local hospitals already are commandeering alcoves and rooms within the facilities to add beds and postponing elective procedures, early steps in planning for a surge of patients.
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital this week began using surge tents set up outside the Mark West Springs Road campus to triage and treat patients with respiratory issues.
[...]
Sutter also is preparing for a surge in patients due to COVID-19 by boosting its video visits and walk-in care options to help keep patients who don’t need emergency care out of the ER.
In the two weeks since testing began in Sonoma County for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, public health labs have so far run about 285 tests for Sonoma County residents, with about 80% returning negative results and 45 tests still pending results, according to county statistics. The county is home to more than 500,000 people, and its top public health officer on Thursday suggested that 20% to 40% of residents may ultimately contract the virus.
[...]
The impact of nationwide shortages of testing swabs and personal protective equipment such as respirator masks continues to affect Sonoma County.
Testing has been hampered by a shortage of the type of swabs needed to get samples from people’s noses and throats, forcing some health care providers to limit testing to only the most serious cases.
Just today, Mase alerted health care providers that they could use an alternative method that does not require a swab to collect samples for COVID-19. This second tactic involves spraying a saline solution into a person’s nose with an aspirant and collecting the liquid that comes out, she said.
[...]
“Anybody is at risk for COVID-19,” said Mase, who encouraged people to adhere to the stay-at-home directive that went into effect in Sonoma County on Wednesday.
[...]
First coronavirus patient dies in Sonoma County, same day local cases doubled to 22
A Sonoma County resident died Friday after contracting the coronavirus and being hospitalized for serious illness, marking the first known death in the county from the fast-moving disease that has led California Gov. Gavin Newsom to ask all Californians to stay home.
Interim Public health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said she received the news of a death “with great sadness,” the same day the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus among Sonoma County residents doubled to 22. A source with Sutter Santa Rosa confirmed the person died Friday afternoon.
[...]
“We need to be prepared for a worsening situation here over the next week,” said Mase, noting that “every case infects another three, so the more cases we have the more cases we get, so this is exactly what we expected.”
[...]
The rise in positive coronavirus test results indicates that the virus is spreading within the community, said Susan Gorin, chairwoman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, noting that this didn’t come as a surprise to her. She emphasized her belief that the county had sufficient testing capacity for the expected rise in caseload: “We will be on top of this in terms of test kits that we need.”
[...]
One of the county’s top priorities is getting more space and medical beds outside of hospitals in the event the number of people needing to be hospitalized with coronavirus exceeds the capacity of its three main hospitals, said Chris Godley, director of the county’s emergency services department.
They are working to find at least two properties where they can establish makeshift hospitals staffed by a combination of volunteers with the Medical Reserve Corps, retired doctors, nursing students and others. ...
Godley said he had no information about when the county might need such added facilities because the limited data from testing doesn’t show the full scope of the virus’s prevalence here, but that he believes the county is “ahead of the curve on this one, quite literally.”
[...]
Some local hospitals already are commandeering alcoves and rooms within the facilities to add beds and postponing elective procedures, early steps in planning for a surge of patients.
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital this week began using surge tents set up outside the Mark West Springs Road campus to triage and treat patients with respiratory issues.
[...]
Sutter also is preparing for a surge in patients due to COVID-19 by boosting its video visits and walk-in care options to help keep patients who don’t need emergency care out of the ER.
In the two weeks since testing began in Sonoma County for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, public health labs have so far run about 285 tests for Sonoma County residents, with about 80% returning negative results and 45 tests still pending results, according to county statistics. The county is home to more than 500,000 people, and its top public health officer on Thursday suggested that 20% to 40% of residents may ultimately contract the virus.
[...]
The impact of nationwide shortages of testing swabs and personal protective equipment such as respirator masks continues to affect Sonoma County.
Testing has been hampered by a shortage of the type of swabs needed to get samples from people’s noses and throats, forcing some health care providers to limit testing to only the most serious cases.
Just today, Mase alerted health care providers that they could use an alternative method that does not require a swab to collect samples for COVID-19. This second tactic involves spraying a saline solution into a person’s nose with an aspirant and collecting the liquid that comes out, she said.
[...]
“Anybody is at risk for COVID-19,” said Mase, who encouraged people to adhere to the stay-at-home directive that went into effect in Sonoma County on Wednesday.
[...]