Lake Almanor resident charts Covid over the past year

By Dale Knutsen

Special to Plumas News

It was a year ago that statistics started being published at the local level about the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Much was still unknown about the virus, and there were no vaccines on the horizon. The only real defense available to everyday citizens was the challenging practice of avoiding contact with others in hopes of limiting the spread. Some did, others didn’t, and the disease statistics fluctuated in response, reaching their peak from mid November through mid January.

The good news locally is that the number of fatalities has remained relatively low and the number of new cases has recently declined to the lowest weekly rate since early October. That has led to a definite flattening of the curve illustrating the total number of county cases. And now, with vaccinations underway, there is hope that we might be able to maintain those favorable trends. But it will still require widespread public cooperation to continue mask wearing and safe distancing in public places. We really don’t want a relapse and another surge!