Dec. 3: Plumas announces 15 new coronavirus cases

December 3, 2020December 5, 2020 Editor

The Plumas County Public Health Agency announced this evening, Dec. 3, that there are 15 additional coronavirus cases. The large number was no surprise since earlier today the Seneca Health Care District (located in the Western Region) announced an outbreak. Nine of the Western Region’s 11 cases reported today are attributed to Seneca.

Following is a breakdown of today’s announced cases:

Four residents from the Eastern Region (Graeagle/Portola)

Eleven residents from the Western Region (Chester/Lake Almanor)

There are now 254 total cases with 51 active, and the remainder are considered recovered. A case is considered recovered based on time following a positive test (10 days) and the severity of the symptoms as monitored by Public Health.

If an exposed resident is identified during the investigation, the resident will be contacted by a member of the Public Health COVID-19 Response Team for further screening.

Plumas County remains in the purple, most restrictive tier. It is also part of the Greater Sacramento Region — one of five regions in the state — when it comes to determining new stay-at-home orders. According to information shared by Gov. Gavin Newsom in a press conference today, four of the five regions, including the region that contains Plumas, are expected to be under the new orders within the next couple of days. The decision will be made on ICU capacity. If a region has less than 15 percent of ICU beds available, the notice will go into effect.

This means that bars, wineries, hair salons, barbershops and personal service providers will close. Additionally, a travel ban will go into effect with all nonessential travel prohibited and individuals told not to gather with those who are not in their immediate household.