'We're in a good place': COVID-19 lull continues in Ventura County

Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star
·2 min read
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A lot has changed since the early days of the pandemic when people waited in long lines at sites including the Ventura County Fairgrounds to be tested for COVID-19. Doctors say the virus hasn't disappeared but levels remain low.
A lot has changed since the early days of the pandemic when people waited in long lines at sites including the Ventura County Fairgrounds to be tested for COVID-19. Doctors say the virus hasn't disappeared but levels remain low.

Unlike Elvis, COVID-19 hasn’t left the building, but the virus is as quiet as it has ever been.

Ventura County public health officials reported two deaths linked to the virus in a weekly update Thursday. They are the first fatalities reported in April. If the number doesn’t grow, it will be the lowest month for COVID deaths in the more than three years of the pandemic.

Only 16 people with COVID were being treated in hospitals, according to the weekly report, and none of them was in intensive care. Dr. Uldine Castel, acting county health officer, said most of the infections that are emerging are causing less severe symptoms.

“I think we’re in a good place,” said Castel, who is serving in the absence of vacationing Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin. “We’re seeing the result of the hard work of everyone wearing masks and the majority of people vaccinating.”

At Community Memorial Healthcare hospitals in Ventura and Ojai, one or two people with COVID symptoms come in each week, said Dr. Neil Canby, an emergency room physician. But two or three times a day, patients in the hospital for other procedures who don’t have any symptoms test positive for the virus.

Nearly all of the people who die from COVID now are older than 65 or have medical conditions that weaken their immunities, said Dr. George Yu, a Camarillo pulmonologist.

“Anyone who dies from COVID right now is preventable,” Yu said, asserting too many high-risk people haven't received bivalent boosters that target Omicron variants and aren't asking for antiviral medications like Paxlovid after they test positive.

“It’s head-scratching to me,” Yu said.

In Ventura County, demand for vaccinations has risen after U.S. Food & Drug Administration announcements that include allowing seniors to receive a second dose of the bivalent booster four months after their first shot. Immunocompromised people can receive a second shot two months after the first.

New variants continue to act as a wild card including a strain known as Arcturus that is causing about 10% of COVID-19 cases across the United States. It has been detected in Los Angeles County but has not been reported in Ventura County.

Doctors said the variant is highly transmissible but doesn’t appear to cause more severe viruses. Its symptoms can include conjunctivitis, particularly in children.

USA Today contributed to this report.

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

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: COVID-19 is still here but lull continues in Ventura County