The number of positive Covid-19 cases have been dropping dramatically in Mono County, with health officials saying that the county positive test rate has dropped dramatically by as much as half in the past few weeks. The big question is whether or not the trend continues. There have been ebbs and flows in the number through the last year, and there is no clear evidence of the “herd immunity” that is so loosely thrown about as the sign of pandemic’s end is real.

The county’s PHO Dr. Tom Boo is reported as saying that the county is in the nine to 10 percent test positivity range for the week ending Jan. 23 and it appears to be holding steady. He noted that the county’s case rate has dropped and “We were just under 30 cases a week or so per 100,000 (population).” Just a few weeks ago the county was averaging over 100 cases a week per the measurement used by the state to determine the 4-Tier-color coded system used by the state on business reopening, which for Mono County was the “Widespread,” Purple Tier.

There have only been 4 deaths since March 2020 when the pandemic began. And the positive Covid-19 cases have stayed low. No one is currently in the hospital because of Covid-19. All of which adds up to the possibility that the county “might” be able to move to the Red Tier with fewer restrictions in the next few weeks…as long as things don’t change. But this is the Covid-19 virus, which has been proven notoriously difficult to predict, especially with concerns over some variant strains that, while not appearing more deadly, do seem to increase transmissivity. Another concern is that the levels of visitors to the mountain have been steadily increasing since the recent snowstorm…with more snow forecast later this week.

The only thing in shorter supply than hope during this pandemic has been the supply than the supply of Covid-19 vaccines. In the coming months, it should become clear that the current vaccines will be effective against any new variants of the coronavirus, and whether, after being vaccinated, the immunization lasts more than six months to a year. No one yet knows.