Local COVID hospitalizations rise, masks mandated on Navy base, CSU campus

COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising in Ventura County but remain "manageable," the county's public health director said Tuesday.

"It’s not overwhelming our health care system," Rigoberto Vargas said in an update on the local impacts of the pandemic at a county Board of Supervisors meeting.

As of Tuesday, 89 COVID-19 patients had been admitted to hospitals across the county, up from 80 patients a day earlier but still far lower than previous surges, Vargas said. Many of the people hospitalized with COVID are being treated primarily for other conditions, he said.

The increase in admissions and high transmission rates have propelled Ventura and more than 30 other California counties into the highest COVID-19 risk tier as ranked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rating brings with it a recommendation that all people wear masks indoors.

Los Angeles County officials have said they will reinstate an indoor mask mandate if the county enters the top risk tier as expected and stays there for two weeks.

Vargas said Ventura County will not require masks but will continue to recommend them.

More restrictions will be considered if hospitalizations and ICU levels climb significantly higher, Vargas said

Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme initiated an indoor masking mandate Friday in compliance with Department of Defense guidelines triggered by the CDC ranking. CSU Channel Islands outside Camarillo started requiring masks indoors last week.

More: COVID-19 reinfections driven by new variants, create scary déjà vu

Vargas said the county's move into the high-risk or red tier nearly two weeks ago indicates that COVID is still very much in play more than two years into the pandemic. He urged people to get vaccinated and boosted and also tested upon developing symptoms or learning of an exposure.

State data show the COVID daily case rate remained high at an average 31.1 infections per 100,000 people but had fallen from a peak last week. The rate is calculated on an 8-day lag and new infections appear to be increasing, suggesting transmission could still be on the upswing.

More than 16% of the people swabbed for COVID in PCR tests come up positive in the county, a rate Vargas called "very high." Home tests are not included in the data.

"It could be better but we’re not in the situation we were in during previous surges, at least currently," Vargas said at the supervisors meeting.

More: COVID-19 rise propels Ventura County into highest risk tier; masks remain optional

A majority of the local cases are likely caused by the highly contagious omicron BA.5 subvariant, believed to be more evasive to antibodies from vaccines or natural immunity. Vaccines still reduce chances of severe illness and death, Vargas said.

Though omicron subvariants appear to cause less severe illness, more will be known about BA.5 as it continues to spread across the region, Vargas said.

"It's still early with this one," he said.

Carmen Ramirez, chair of the Board of Supervisors, said she tested positive in early June and qualified for treatment with Paxlovid pills. She recovered quickly and avoided the relapse in symptoms known as the "Paxlovid rebound."

"I felt 100% in about 5 days or less," she said.

Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: To see more stories like this, subscribe here.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: COVID-19 hospitalizations see modest rise in Ventura County