With 74 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of last Friday, Inyo County is now classified as “widespread” on California’s new criteria for opening or closing businesses. To put it bluntly, the widespread status is the worst place to be on the coronavirus scale.
The new color-coded, tiered, system replaces the original “stage” system that was complicated by the wide fluctuations in and out of those stages and the implications of that fluctuation.
[Editor Note: Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate) and Yellow (Minimal) – based on how prevalent COVID-19 is in each county and the extent of community spread. Inyo County is in the Purple category.]
According to the State COVID-19 website, “counties must remain in a tier for at least three weeks before moving forward. To move forward, a county must meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks. Data is reviewed weekly and tiers are updated on Tuesdays.”
Here are the metrics and how deep into those metrics Inyo is now: More than seven new cases daily per 100,000 population and no higher than 8-percent positive tests. Inyo averaged 27.1 new cases with a 13.2-percent positive tests. There are currently 174 confirmed cases in Inyo County.
New restrictions and requirements go into effect today, August 31. The state website (covid.19.ca/gov/safer-econo) provides an overview. For specific businesses, the website to go to is covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/.
Just as with the previous method of evaluating a county’s opening status, individual county restrictions take precedent over state restrictions
So, here’s the basics provided by the State website:
- Many non-essential business will be closed. Again, check the industry-guidance website to see specifically what businesses are impacted.
- Some businesses and activities are approved with modifications. For instance retail, hair salons and barbershops can open with a maximum of 25-percent capacity.
- Schools cannot open for on-site education unless they get a waiver from the California Public Health Department. Schools can open when Inyo enters the substantial tier (four to seven new cases a day and a five- to eight-percent positive rate) and stays at that level for two weeks.
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Saying 94% of people who die from COVID 19 have underlying medical conditions is another way of saying that most people who die of COVID are older people who almost always have chronic medical conditions. Those conditions undercut the body’s ability to defend against the virus most effectively, but they do not kill the patient. These underlying conditions are “contributing factors” to the patient’s demise, not the primary cause – which is the virus. They would not have died at that time if they had not had COVID19. They might have lived another 50 years in the case of young people with diabetes. All death certificates note chronic conditions as they are known at time of death.
Curious that the state’s website doesn’t list “recovered cases” nor can you really find that information. The 174 cases in Inyo are not necessarily “active” cases but “total” cases since the on-set in early 2020. 13 have died, how many are currently ill as of today? How many have recovered? How many tested positive but have expressed no illness? 13 deaths in a county of 18,000+ residents is a very small number and since the majority of the recent cases are from the care center, the logic behind closing everything down doesn’t meet the muster. Even the CDC reported today that 94% of deaths from CV-19 had “underlying medical issues.”
Ummm, actually it is.
very frustrating when, by all accounts, the virus isn’t widespread in Inyo County, but is instead concentrated at the care center. If that is true, then what is gained by closing down businesses? Do what Mono County did, focus on the industry with the problem. Require testing of all nursing home/assisted living facilities employees so infected people know it and are quarantined. The residents already cannot leave or have visitors so they aren’t the problem. Nothing is gained by shutting down other aspects of the county.
Sugar, it’s well beyond just the Care Center.
Ummm, no it’s not. Mags has some common sense – thank you!!
Common sense says by no means whatsoever is COVID – 19 just “concentrated at the care center.”.
My comment was posted out of order, it was intended to dispute Mono person claiming covid wasnt outside the care center. It is most definitely in the community.