The number of coronavirus cases is on the rise in California and health officials are increasingly concerned about COVID clusters in multiple neighborhoods. WHERE ARE THE COVID CLUSTERS HAPPENING?In Sacramento, the city’s Meadowview neighborhood south of Florin Road is a COVID hot spot, with 521 cases in the 95823 ZIP code, according to Sacramento County’s public health dashboard. “The district has a high concentration of essential workers,” said Sacramento city councilman Larry Carr. “Those people who had to go to work during the virus. They cannot telecommute,” Carr said. “They didn’t have jobs that allow them to do that. They suffered a significant exposure to the virus.”Carr added, “They were the garbage workers, hotel maids, people who have to come into contact with people every day and their jobs don’t lend themselves to telecommuting.”Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights neighborhood is another COVID hot spot, with 288 confirmed cases in the 95838 ZIP code, represented by city councilman Allen Warren.“African Americans, Hispanics and Asians make up the majority of those communities,” Warren said. “And they tend to be communities where you have larger households. So people are living together more closely and actually in smaller homes.”But even in communities like Galt – in the southern part of Sacramento County – where housing is less dense, COVID cases are on the rise – with 220 cases overall. Contact tracing shows much of it is due to private gatherings – and from people who won’t wear masks or face coverings, according to Galt city manager Tom Haglund.“I think there has been a predisposition, unfortunately, in Galt to not believe that wearing masks or observing social distancing is something that folks want to follow,” Haglund said. “I think there is COVID-19 fatigue.”Haglund added, “We’ve had some businesses that have simply refused to do that — don’t want to do that, sometimes claiming that COVID is a hoax.”But COVID is no hoax – and California as a whole is seeing more people testing positive – and ending up in the hospital – especially in San Joaquin County, another hot spot. “Our hospital surge beds are at about 70% capacity,” said Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County’s public health officer. “But our ICU beds are at 121% capacity, which means we are over capacity. We are in surge mode,” Park said. WHO’S GETTING INFECTED?Most of the new people getting COVID-19 in California are young.“The highest number of COVID cases is coming from our 18- to 44-year-old age group,” Park told KCRA 3. “Specifically, the 25- to 35-year-olds are contributing greatly to our COVID case count.”There is also an ethnic divide in terms of who’s contracting the virus.“Seems to be that we have a growth in the Hispanic or Latino population to the point where, although they don’t make up as much as 60% of the population, they contribute to 60% or more of our COVID case count,” Park stated.The demographics are similar in Sacramento County, where public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye told KCRA 3, “When you look at the numbers, especially lately, over 70% that are getting it are the young adult age group 18-49.”And those young people are typically working hard – and in some cases, partying hard too. “We believe the reason for this is because the young set of people are the adults who are working,” Park said. “But they are also the adults who are playing. They seem to be gathering socially and then taking it to work and sharing it there.”And in Sacramento County, “In a number of the clusters that we have worked on is that it was somebody who went to a gathering with mild symptoms and then passed it on to other people,” Kasirye told KCRA 3. Councilman Carr added that his District 8, “has a concentration of multi-generational families – people with grandparents, parents, children and sometimes grandchildren who are living in the same household. And that increases the exposure to the virus as well.”WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SLOW THE SPREAD?“First of all, we have to test and get the testing near where people live,” said Carr. “You can’t put the testing sites in remote parts of 95823 (ZIP code) and expect a lot of people to participate.”“I have been very frustrated that we have not placed testing centers near people – especially the people of Meadowview,” Carr said. Carr also wants to see more efforts to reach out to the public about the dangers of spreading the coronavirus. “I have been urging my councilmembers to devote a full 10% of the $89 million COVID CARES (Act) money to outreach,” Carr said. “Ten percent to making sure that people understand what the other $79 million is supposed to do.”Carr added, “Increase the ways of communicating with people that don’t involve a computer and don’t involve them accessing the city’s web site. Go to where the people are.”“We got to work together,” said Warren. “We got to lock hands.”“We’re stronger and more healthy working together than we are individually,” Warren told KCRA 3.San Joaquin County’s public health officer Dr. Maggie Park added, “Wear your mask. Do what you can to contribute to the overall decrease in the transmission of the spread of COVID.””Although people might be tired to hear it, the message is still the same: Stay home,” Park said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
The number of coronavirus cases is on the rise in California and health officials are increasingly concerned about COVID clusters in multiple neighborhoods.
WHERE ARE THE COVID CLUSTERS HAPPENING?
In Sacramento, the city’s Meadowview neighborhood south of Florin Road is a COVID hot spot, with 521 cases in the 95823 ZIP code, according to Sacramento County’s public health dashboard.
“The district has a high concentration of essential workers,” said Sacramento city councilman Larry Carr.
“Those people who had to go to work during the virus. They cannot telecommute,” Carr said. “They didn’t have jobs that allow them to do that. They suffered a significant exposure to the virus.”
Carr added, “They were the garbage workers, hotel maids, people who have to come into contact with people every day and their jobs don’t lend themselves to telecommuting.”
Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights neighborhood is another COVID hot spot, with 288 confirmed cases in the 95838 ZIP code, represented by city councilman Allen Warren.
“African Americans, Hispanics and Asians make up the majority of those communities,” Warren said. “And they tend to be communities where you have larger households. So people are living together more closely and actually in smaller homes.”
But even in communities like Galt – in the southern part of Sacramento County – where housing is less dense, COVID cases are on the rise – with 220 cases overall.
Contact tracing shows much of it is due to private gatherings – and from people who won’t wear masks or face coverings, according to Galt city manager Tom Haglund.
“I think there has been a predisposition, unfortunately, in Galt to not believe that wearing masks or observing social distancing is something that folks want to follow,” Haglund said. “I think there is COVID-19 fatigue.”
Haglund added, “We’ve had some businesses that have simply refused to do that — don’t want to do that, sometimes claiming that COVID is a hoax.”
But COVID is no hoax – and California as a whole is seeing more people testing positive – and ending up in the hospital – especially in San Joaquin County, another hot spot.
“Our hospital surge beds are at about 70% capacity,” said Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County’s public health officer.
“But our ICU beds are at 121% capacity, which means we are over capacity. We are in surge mode,” Park said.
WHO’S GETTING INFECTED?
Most of the new people getting COVID-19 in California are young.
“The highest number of COVID cases is coming from our 18- to 44-year-old age group,” Park told KCRA 3. “Specifically, the 25- to 35-year-olds are contributing greatly to our COVID case count.”
There is also an ethnic divide in terms of who’s contracting the virus.
“Seems to be that we have a growth in the Hispanic or Latino population to the point where, although they don’t make up as much as 60% of the population, they contribute to 60% or more of our COVID case count,” Park stated.
The demographics are similar in Sacramento County, where public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye told KCRA 3, “When you look at the numbers, especially lately, over 70% that are getting it are the young adult age group 18-49.”
And those young people are typically working hard – and in some cases, partying hard too.
“We believe the reason for this is because the young set of people are the adults who are working,” Park said. “But they are also the adults who are playing. They seem to be gathering socially and then taking it to work and sharing it there.”
And in Sacramento County, “In a number of the clusters that we have worked on is that it was somebody who went to a gathering with mild symptoms and then passed it on to other people,” Kasirye told KCRA 3.
Councilman Carr added that his District 8, “has a concentration of multi-generational families – people with grandparents, parents, children and sometimes grandchildren who are living in the same household. And that increases the exposure to the virus as well.”
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SLOW THE SPREAD?
“First of all, we have to test and get the testing near where people live,” said Carr. “You can’t put the testing sites in remote parts of 95823 (ZIP code) and expect a lot of people to participate.”
“I have been very frustrated that we have not placed testing centers near people – especially the people of Meadowview,” Carr said.
Carr also wants to see more efforts to reach out to the public about the dangers of spreading the coronavirus.
“I have been urging my councilmembers to devote a full 10% of the $89 million COVID CARES (Act) money to outreach,” Carr said. “Ten percent to making sure that people understand what the other $79 million is supposed to do.”
Carr added, “Increase the ways of communicating with people that don’t involve a computer and don’t involve them accessing the city’s web site. Go to where the people are.”
“We got to work together,” said Warren. “We got to lock hands.”
“We’re stronger and more healthy working together than we are individually,” Warren told KCRA 3.
San Joaquin County’s public health officer Dr. Maggie Park added, “Wear your mask. Do what you can to contribute to the overall decrease in the transmission of the spread of COVID.”
“Although people might be tired to hear it, the message is still the same: Stay home,” Park said.
