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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Public Health released new COVID-19 case demographics this week with additional specifics related to age and communities of residence.

The latest weekly demographics were released on Monday afternoon.

This new data is based on the 151 cases reported on Monday. On Tuesday, Lake County’s case count rose to 156.

Last week’s demographics, released on July 14 when there were 122 cases, were the first to show that more cases have been confirmed in females than in males, a trend opposite – until recently – to state numbers. Previous to that, the gender patterns in local cases had followed the state’s.

This week, the number of cases in females continued to outpace males, growing from 62 to 80, while cases involving males grew from 60 to 71.

Cases by source continue to be led by close contacts to a known case, 72, an increase of eight cases over the previous week, while 51 cases are reported as “under investigation,” an increase of 21 cases in that category from the previous report.

Other case sources, unchanged in numbers from last week, are those connected to an out of county contact, 17; five from a source said to be other/unknown; four that are from presumed occupational contacts; and two from a congregate living situation, with officials having previously confirmed those cases were in the Lake County Jail.

This week, Lake County Public Health offered more detailed breakdowns of cases by age.

The 25 to 34 age range has the most cases, with 35; followed by age 35 to 44, 26 cases; age 13 to 24, 25 cases; age 45 to 54, 20 cases; age 55 to 64, 18 cases; birth to age 12, 14 cases; and 65 and older, 13 cases.

Another change to the information offered by Public Health this week is a breakdown by zip code within the five supervisorial districts.

Within the supervisorial districts, 50 cases are reported in District 2, which primarily covers Clearlake, an increase of eight cases; 31 in District 3, which covers the Northshore, up by three over the previous week; District 4, covering the greater Lakeport area, has 28 cases, up by seven; District 5, the Kelseyville, Loch Lomond and Cobb areas, has 27 cases, an increase of four; and District 1, covering Middletown and the south county along with portions of Clearlake, has 15, up by seven.

With regard to communities where cases have been confirmed, the new information shows the following breakdowns by zip code:

– 95422, Clearlake: 50;
– 95453, Lakeport: 28;
– 95451, Kelseyville: 22;
– 95423, Clearlake Oaks: 11;
– 95457, Lower Lake: 9;
– 95458, Lucerne: 8;
– 95485, Upper Lake: 8;
– 95467, Hidden Valley Lake, 6;
– 95426, Cobb: 4;
– 95464, Nice: 4;

One of the cases reported was not assigned to a zip code and labeled “unknown.”

Public Health said the next set of data will be released on Monday, July 27.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Farm Bureau said a new invasive exotic pest has been discovered in Lake County.

In the first days of early May, while most of Lake County was still sheltered in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, two brown marmorated stink bugs, or BMSB for short, were discovered in orchard traps set at two separate locations – one around Upper Lake and one in the Big Valley area.

It’s the first time the pest has been located in Lake County, the Farm Bureau said.

The stinkbug is an invasive pest endemic to China. It can cause severe crop and garden losses and become a nuisance in and around homes and other buildings.

BMSB primarily damages fruit and is a serious pest of many fruit and fruiting vegetable crops. In Lake County’s main agricultural crops are susceptible, as are many home gardens.

BMSB also poses a nuisance to homeowners. In many home landscape situations the greatest concern may be the movement of brown marmorated stink bugs into buildings as they congregate in late summer and early fall and seek safe overwintering sites. Once inside buildings they can become a nuisance and emit an offensive odor if disturbed or crushed.

The adult BMSB is a typically-shaped stink bug, about 5/8 inch long, and marbled brown. It can be distinguished from other stink bugs of comparable size and color by two white bands on the antennae, faint white band on the legs, smooth round shoulder margins and a blunt head.

If you think you have found BMSB in your orchard, vineyard or home garden, bring the insect into the Lake County Ag Department for further identification.

Ornamental tree and shrub species such as tree-of-heaven are the preferred host of both BMSB and another invasive exotic pest that threatens Lake County crops: spotted lanternfly.

Tree-of-heaven is ubiquitous around Lake County, and can encourage establishment of these pests. It is important for property owners to understand the risks of planting tree-of-heaven and not allow it to grow and spread uncontrollably.

Tree-of-heaven was introduced from China and is very invasive, fast-growing and hard to eradicate once established. Tree-of-heaven is especially successful at establishing around riparian areas, which crowds out native plants, and produces chemicals that prevent other plants from establishing nearby.

Tree-of heaven can also form extensive root systems that damage sewer systems and foundations. It can be identified by its smooth leaf margins with one to two glandular teeth at the base of the leaflet, and a strong nutty smell.

Tree-of-heaven is usually confused with black walnut, winged/shiny sumac, staghorn sumac, butternut and ash trees.

If you have established tree-of-heaven on your property, contact the Lake County Department of Agriculture at 707-263-0217 for information on how to eradicate this invasive exotic.

The public is also encouraged to not plant tree-of-heaven as landscaping. Contact the UC Master Gardeners program at 707-263-6838 for alternate shade trees and ornamental shrubs.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said its Marine Patrol has located the body of a Stockton man who was reported missing while boating over the weekend.

Lt. Corey Paulich said deputies located the body of Anthony Troy Jenkins, 48, on Tuesday morning.

Paulich said that on Saturday at noon the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol responded to the area of Shag Rock, an area offshore of Buckingham on Clear Lake, for a report of a male who possibly drowned.

When the Marine Patrol units arrived, occupants of a boat told them a male identified as Jenkins had fallen off the boat and had not resurfaced, Paulich said.

An initial search of the area was conducted by the Marine Patrol units, but Paulich said they were not able to locate Jenkins.

Paulich said the Northshore Fire Protection District Dive Team was requested to assist with the search. The dive team arrived approximately an hour after the incident was reported and began searching the area.

The Marine Patrol also utilized its side-scan sonar to search for Jenkins, but Paulich said Jenkins was not located and the search was halted in the late afternoon.

On Sunday at 6:30 a.m., the Marine Patrol units and the dive team again searched the area where Jenkins was last seen. Paulich said the area was searched for approximately seven hours, but Jenkins was not located and the search was halted.

Paulich said the search continued on Monday but Jenkins was still not located.

At 8 a.m. Tuesday, the body of a deceased male was located by Marine Patrol units in the area of Shag Rock, Paulich said.

The body is believed to be that of Jenkins, but Paulich said positive identification and cause of death are pending an autopsy that will occur later this week.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Public Health has confirmed that recent test results show that nearly a dozen additional county residents have contracted COVID-19.

On Monday, Lake County’s cases grew from 140 to 151, according to the Public Health COVID-19 dashboard.

Of those, 31 cases are active and 119 are recovered. Earlier this month Public Health said one patient had died.

Currently, two patients are hospitalized. Public Health said 12 of Lake County’s cases have required hospitalization to date.

Other specifics about the cases were not available Monday.

County Public Health departments statewide reported more than 396,000 COVID-19 cases and 7,760 deaths in California as of Monday night.

Lake’s neighboring counties reported the following totals on Monday: Colusa, 223; Glenn, 219; Mendocino, 199; Napa, 632; Sonoma, 2,212; and Yolo, 1,196.

Public Health said a total of 6,143 tests have been conducted for Lake County residents.

The California Department of Public Health said there have been 6,414,321 tests conducted in California, an increase of 127,469 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

The state said local health departments have reported 19,734 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 107 deaths statewide.

Public Health said Lake County’s positivity was at 4 percent – up from 2.9 percent in the last report late last week – with a case rate of 61.7 per 100,000 for a 14-day period and an average of 181.5 tests per day.

The county also reported that 40 percent of the county’s medical/surgical beds and 38 percent of intensive care unit beds are available, and all of the county’s ventilators are free.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – First 5 Lake County works to build the early childhood systems and supports needed to ensure Lake County’s children are safe, healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.

This cannot be achieved without a network of strong community partners, and employers have never been more crucial collaborators in promoting children’s health and academic achievement than during the COVID-19 pandemic.

First 5 said it’s proud to announce the winners of its 2020 Lake County Children’s Champion Employer Awards.

The inaugural award winners are:

· Adventist Health Clearlake;
· County of Lake;
· Families United Respite;
· Hillcrest House;
· Lake County Tribal Health Consortium;
· Lake Family Resource Center;
· Redwood Community Services; and
· Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

Employers were nominated for this award by at least one of their employees for enacting family-friendly policies during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

Policies varied across employers but focused on making sure families had what they needed to be successful during this unprecedented time.

Winning companies, nonprofits and agencies demonstrated their support in at least one of the following ways:

· Allowing employees to work from home while caring for their children/dependents;
· Providing flexible scheduling;
· Surveying employees regarding their child care needs, in order to offer effective assistance;
· Establishing a fund to help employees cover expenses;
· Providing opportunities for remote professional development; and
· Welcoming the "intrusion" of young children during video meetings and calls for work.

First 5 Lake Executive Director Carla Ritz, celebrated the multiplying effects of family-first policies.

“We know children thrive when their families thrive, and when working parents have an employer that understands the importance of parents being there for their children, especially during times of stress and uncertainty. It's a win-win for everyone because happy parents make better employees,” said Ritz.

Several Redwood Community Services employees spoke highly of the support they received.

One noted: “Even before the shelter-at-home order, RCS has always implemented family-friendly policies supporting employees who have children. Since COVID-19 restrictions were ordered, RCS has spent a significant amount of time asking employees what they need, and how the restrictions have impacted their daily functioning and overall wellbeing via surveys, agency-wide ‘town hall’ meetings, and 1:1 check-ins. When it came time to discuss reintegration plans, RCS paid special attention to understanding the concerns and needs of those employees caring for children and other dependents.

“In addition to connecting employees to eligibility resources and services, RCS offered additional aid to employees who may have struggled to fill in gaps if they were unable to work. RCS provided all employees equal opportunity to continue working full-time in other programs (if their role was temporarily suspended due to the pandemic) or access to the aforementioned eligibility services.”

An employee nominating Adventist Health Clearlake shared: "Our organization provided benefits and pay for associates who needed to be home with children during COVID for two months. Then, [they] allowed associates to be in temporary layoff, which allowed them to maintain their benefits for 90 days, plus allowed them to go negative in paid time off up to 48 hours. They also established a fund for them to access for any expenses they needed help covering."

Lake Family Resource Center staff were similarly effusive regarding their employer. One nomination stated:

"I am so grateful to Lake FRC during this difficult time. Not only were they quick to adjust to remote work, they continued to pay staff and support their employees. With all the hardships staff faced with things like childcare and school closures, this agency has been the definition of flexible and understanding.

My little one at home has made special appearances on our virtual meetings and the response has been absolutely welcoming. I have been able to care for my little one while maintaining my job, without pressure from my higher-ups to be ‘on top of it all’ which ends up supporting me in being able to thrive at both.

I have never worked for an agency so willing to hear the feedback from their employees and adjust to a structure that promotes wellbeing for not only clients but the needs of their staff and staff families too."

Lisa Morrow, executive director of Lake Family Resource Center, responded to the nomination: “Such an honor! I am so pleased our staff understand we are doing what we can.”

Upon learning Lake County Tribal Health Consortium had been nominated as a family-friendly employer, CEO Ernesto Padilla said, “LCTHC did not furlough or lay off any team members due to COVID-19 and gave everyone the option to continue with their employment or go on leave. We also gave 7 additional PTO days to help out those on leave and reward those who chose to stay. We have a very young and energized team at LCTHC, many with growing families, so we do as much as we can to accommodate family leave.”

For Scott Knight, chief administrative officer at Sutter Lakeside Hospital, the nomination elicited both appreciation and reflection. “This has certainly been a challenging time. I feel we have done really well understanding family impacts and have done some cool stuff including working from home on many days for somewhere the job allows. We happily accept the nomination and appreciate the recognition since we have worked hard on this focus on the children of our employees.”

The county of Lake was nominated by an employee in the Behavioral Health Department that was able to care for dependent grandchildren who were home from school.

Flexibility to meet this unanticipated and important need was available thanks to a policy adopted by the Lake County Board of Supervisors.

“Grandparents raising their grandchildren is a truly unsupported and hidden demographic. There are next-to-no programs and services available to help. I am pleased that Lake County Behavioral Health Services staff was able to step in and assist in the support of grandchildren home from school due to COVID-19,” noted Todd Metcalf, director of Lake County Behavioral Health Services.

The First 5 Lake Commissioners said they are honored to bring these Children’s Champion Employers and their family-friendly efforts to the attention of our Lake County friends and neighbors.

Each employer will receive a Children’s Champion window cling, certificates from State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assembly Member Cecelia Aguiar-Curry, and they will be acknowledged in local media advertising and through social media.

It is the hope of the First 5 Lake Commission that family-friendly employment practices will become the rule, rather than the exception, in Lake County, as we continue to prioritize the health and wellbeing of our youngest children.

The First 5 Lake County supports programs and services that promote the health and development of young children and educate parents, grandparents, caregivers and teachers about the critical role they play during a child’s first five years. Funding is derived from California’s Proposition 10’s voter-mandated tax on tobacco products.

Since its inception in 2000, First 5 Lake has supported thousands of families with programs and services designed to help Lake County children grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.

Current First 5 Lake Commissioners are Pam Klier, Denise Pomeroy, Brock Falkenberg, Tina Scott, Crystal Markytan, Susan Jen, Carly Swatosh and Allison Panella.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Congressman Mike Thompson will host another in his series of virtual town halls, this time looking at education as the new school year approaches.

The town hall will take place starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 23.

It will be live-streamed on Thompson’s Facebook page.

The special guest for Thompson’s 11th virtual town hall will be Rep. Bobby Scott, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

Thompson said they will discuss education and safely reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

Those who want to participate must register by emailing their name to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Shortly before the event, those who register will receive an email with instructions on how to join.