Sacramento-area counties move into CDC’s medium COVID-19 status level. Here’s what it means
The four counties in California’s capital region have been moved into a COVID-19 status tier that urges those at high risk of getting very sick to wear a high-quality mask or respirator, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, due to recent increases in virus hospitalization numbers.
Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties are now listed in the “yellow” (or medium) status tier based on COVID-19 hospitalization rates from data collected by the CDC through Dec. 2, the most recent data available for counties in California.
The CDC data shows the four-county region had a 29% increase in hospitalized COVID patients on Dec. 2 compared to Nov. 25. Only those four California counties are listed in the yellow tier, according to the CDC; all others are in the “green” (low) tier. No California counties were listed in the “orange” status tier (high) as of Monday.
The California Department of Public Health respiratory virus dashboard, which includes separate charts for COVID-19 and influenza, now displays only weekly updates on hospitalizations at the statewide level, no longer including county-level hospital numbers.
The most recent update from CDPH shows the number of hospital patients with COVID-19 in California on a steady rise, up to 1,592 patients on Dec. 2 from 1,151 one month earlier.
The California hospital data chart that shows county figures and remains posted online, but is no longer being actively updated, shows the number of patients with COVID-19 in Sacramento County climbed to 81 on Dec. 2 from 49 on Sept. 27. In Placer County, that total rose to 52 on Dec. 2 from 37 on Sept. 29. This most recent data shows Yolo County with five patients with COVID-19 in hospitals, and four in El Dorado County.
COVID-19 test positivity rate data for California is no longer available for each county — only statewide. California reported a 8.8% test positivity rate through Dec. 4, which is a 1.1-point increase from the previous week and has been on a steady climb since it was 6.1% on Nov. 2, according to CDPH.
Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties were listed in the green status tier (or low) throughout October and November before recently ticking back up to the yellow tier.
Along with the mask recommendation for those at high risk of getting very sick, residents in counties in the yellow tier should consider self-testing for COVID-19 and wearing a high-quality mask when indoors and coming into contact with those at high risk of getting very sick, according to federal health officials.
The CDC said people may choose to mask at any time, and people with symptoms, a positive test or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a high-quality mask or respirator when indoors in a public space.
The CDC places counties into the yellow tier once their rate of new weekly hospital admissions with COVID-19 exceeds 10 per 100,000 residents, and into the orange tier above 20 per 100,000. CDC data showed the four-county Sacramento region at a hospitalization rate of 10.5 per 100,000, up from 8.2 per 100,000 the previous week and reaching its highest point since late September.
Nationwide, 75% of counties remained as of Monday within the green hospitalization tier, 21% were in yellow and less than 4% were in orange.
State power operator returns to COVID screening
The California Independent System Operator (or ISO), which maintains the state’s power grid, on Monday activated COVID-19 screening protocols for its buildings in response to Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties moving into the yellow tier.
Visitors at California ISO buildings, along with staff attending in-person meetings with external visitors, will need to acknowledge they have tested negative for COVID-19 within 24 hours of being on site. Test kits will be available upon arrival, if needed.
