Santa Cruz County flagged by state due to rise in COVID-19 cases, reports 4th death

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION)

UPDATE 7/23/2020 10:30 a.m. Santa Cruz County health officials say they have seen a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, and as a result, it has been flagged by the state.

If the county is flagged for three days, it will be added to the state's monitoring list and will be subject to closures. Officials say they expect to have more than a thousand confirmed cases by Monday and that it has been overwhelmed by the number of new cases. Twenty people were hospitalized as of Wednesday, but the county said it has not seen a significant increase in hospitalizations or deaths.

During a press conference, Dr. Gail Newel said COVID-19 was a contributing factor in a resident's death, making it the fourth COVID-19-related death in the county. Newel said the patient was a man in his 70s with cardiac issues.

Private labs are seeing as much as a 7 to 10 day turnaround for test results, so health officials say contact tracing is no longer efficient due to the volume of cases, so it is shifting efforts by asking the public to stay at home, wear face coverings, practice social distancing and washing hands. It is also asking for help from employers and providers.

The county has also seen a number of case clusters, according to the county. Five out of seven nursing facilities in the county have reported COVID-19 cases, but no deaths have been reported there. An inmate at the Santa Cruz County Jail tested positive as well, but health officials say that case was contained. Workplace clusters have also been reported, but health officials say the virus has mainly been passed between staff members, and it has not often been passed to the public.

Newel attributes the rise in cases to mainly gathering among family and friends. Because of a rise in cases among young people and caucasian people, Newel said she thought protests may be a contributing factor to the rise in cases, but she said they do not appear to be playing out in the increase in cases, possibly because they were outdoor activities.

PREVIOUS STORY: Santa Cruz County health officials are holding a news conference Thursday to provide an update on the county's COVID-19 response.

Health officials said one of the topics they will discuss is COVID-19 transmission in the community.

There have been a total of 848 confirmed cases in Santa Cruz County. 334 people have recovered and three people have died.