The new COVID-19 surge in Placer County is ‘escalating much faster’ than officials feared

The recent wave of coronavirus infections is hammering Placer County.

The county, home to more than 400,000 residents, reported its test positivity rate and case rate doubled in the last month pushing the county, along with most of California, into the most restrictive tier of business and religious service openings. The spike is the highest in three months. And it’s not showing any signs of letting up.

“This surge has escalated rather dramatically,” said Dr. Rob Oldham, the county’s director of health and human services. “Many states, including California, are now setting single day case records that eclipse the high case loads we saw back in the summer.”

“It’s becoming clear we’re now experiencing the predicted second wave. However, this wave is earlier in the season and escalating much faster than most were predicting,” he added.

The surge in coronavirus cases in Placer County, and across the state, is largely attributed to a rise in household transmission, where someone who has the virus passes it to another immediate family member or roommate. A rise in large gatherings has also contributed to at least a 20% increase in cases in Placer, the county said last week.

And in a presentation to the Placer County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oldham said that businesses and gathering places such as restaurants and places of worship — hit hardest by the new waves of shutdowns—are not a major source of transmission. Though, he cautioned, contact tracing has its limits.

“It doesn’t look like we have clear evidence that our currently restricted businesses and organizations like restaurants and places of worship are significantly driving local transmission,” he said. “But with that said ... COVID case investigation and contact tracing has significant limitations and so we can’t say definitively.”

“This is really challenging and ultimately at the end of the day we’ve got to have some personal responsibility in taking care of ourselves, our family and our friends knowing that we can slow the spread,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Bonnie Gore, who represents Roseville.

Oldham also said despite some cases in skilled nursing facilities and schools, neither setting is a major factor in the current surge in cases.

“We don’t have compelling evidence to support the idea that large outbreaks are happening in school,” he said. “In-person learning does not appear to be a major factor in the transmission among youth.”

Coronavirus surge across California

The surge in cases in Placer is reflected across the state, driving 39 of California’s 58 counties into the purple tier, forcing many businesses to close and restrictions to tighten. All six counties in the Sacramento region – El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Sacramento and the Yuba-Sutter bi-county – are now in the state’s strictest tier.

The Placer Board of Supervisors expressed some frustration at the state’s change of course, especially Supervisor Kirk Uhler, who represents Granite Bay.

In the meeting, Uhler said he disagreed with the state’s actions, saying counties that had already been in the purple tier prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement on Monday were still experiencing the same kind of uptick despite already having their non-essential businesses closed. Thus, the rise in case numbers is not unique to Placer County, which has been advocating for its economy and small-business owners throughout the pandemic.

Oldham said his team had shared concerns with state officials about the “unintended consequences” of the widespread closures, particularly on the local economy and public health. And state officials indicated they would be open to considering some alternatives, though it is unclear what those might be.

Hospital capacity has expanded since the pandemic hit in March, meaning that despite the increase in cases, hospitals in the county are much better prepared to handle the surge this time around.

Placer’s two largest hospitals, Sutter Roseville Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Roseville, lie near the border with Sacramento County and serve residents of both counties. For at least the last month, about half of all COVID-19 patients in Placer hospital beds were residents of other counties, according to the county dashboard.

By Tuesday, 68 people were hospitalized with the virus in Placer County, with nine confirmed cases in ICU beds, according to state data.

According to a Sutter Health spokesperson, Sutter Roseville Medical Center has expanded his hospital capacity and is prepared for the surge.

“While we are monitoring these increases closely, our teams are trained and equipped to provide high-quality care and we have put additional measures into place to help protect the safety of care providers, clinical staff and patients,” a spokesperson said. “We operate in 22 counties and because our integrated network of hospitals, surgery centers and ambulatory clinics are interconnected, we are able to move resources – such as PPE or other needed supplies – and health care workers to where they are needed most. This structure and coordination gives our system the flexibility to increase critical care capacity by two to three times where needed.”

Officials at Kaiser Permanente echoed that, saying as an integrated healthcare network, they were also well-prepared for the increased case load.

“We are contributing to California’s Roadmap for reopening the state which includes increased hospital capacity to address a surge of 35% above normal capacity,” said Michelle Gaskill-Hames, senior vice president of hospital and health plan operations for Kaiser Permanente Northern California. “As a result, Kaiser Permanente facilities and staff are managing the current growth in hospitalized cases, expertly treating patients with the virus while safely caring for patients with other conditions as well.”

“Because Kaiser Permanente is a fully integrated health care system, we can more readily accommodate patients, if needed, from one Kaiser Permanente medical center to other Kaiser Permanente sites,” she said.

When asked about countywide hospital capacity by the board, Oldham said COVID-19 patients represent less than 10% of the total capacity in Placer hospitals.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story quoted Dr. Rob Oldham, Placer County’s director of health and human services, as saying restaurants and houses of worship were driving new COVID-19 cases. This story has been updated to reflect Oldham’s full quote.