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COVID Cases Likely To Peak In Coming Week

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Sonora, CA — With the spread of the Delta variant, Tuolumne County has been seeing its highest number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

We reported yesterday that there were 71 new community cases. In total, there are 296 active cases and 14 people who are hospitalized.  Interim Health Officer, Dr. Eric Sergienko, says state modeling indicates that the numbers will likely continue to increase in the Mother Lode region until sometime between August 20-22, and then hopefully start to level off. The information was relayed to him by state officials in a conference call this week.

The state modeling looks at current disease activity and what has been witnessed in other areas, like India and UK, which experienced spikes due to the Delta variant.

Dr. Sergienko adds, “The next week will be really telling for us because the hospital is strained, the hospitals around us are strained, and there is less staff available than there was in the winter.”

He adds, “People need to be doing what they can to not get sick.”

Dr. Sergienko adds, “The question is whether those models will bear out or not, or whether the surge will continue past that time. I am certainly hopeful that it will be the peak since the case rate has recently been the highest since the pandemic began.”

He continues to encourage people to wear a mask in social settings and to get the vaccine.

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