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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As statewide COVID-19 cases increase, health officials are reporting that nearly 10 percent of those with the illness are health care workers, while analysis of patients indicates infection rates are following the state’s population demographics.

On Thursday morning, the California Department of Public Health said that the state had 18,309 confirmed cases and 492 deaths. By Thursday night, the number of confirmed cases had surpassed 20,000, with more than 540 deaths, according to a survey of Public Health department websites statewide.

CDPH said Thursday that approximately 177,600 tests had been conducted in California by commercial, private and academic labs, as well as 22 state and county health labs. At least 163,704 results had been received, with another 13,900 pending.

The state said local health departments have reported that more than 1,800 health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19. The cases originate from a combination of on-the-job exposures and other situations, such as travel and close family contact.

In one example of health care workers being impacted, on Thursday the Merced County Department of Public Health reported that 10 staffers from the Sutter Health Rural Health Clinic in Los Banos tested positive for COVID-19.

Public health officials in Merced County are working with the clinic to contact all individuals who may have been exposed, and the clinic was closed to allow for proper disinfection and notification procedures.

Professor discusses virus, concerns about racial disparities

On Wednesday evening, State Sen. Mike McGuire hosted a virtual town hall on the novel coronavirus for Lake and Mendocino County residents.

Among McGuire’s panelists was Dr. Timothy Brewer, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and of Medicine and a member of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.

Brewer said that, because this is a new virus, recommendations to address it may change as time goes on and doctors learn more about it.

Initially, it was compared to the flu and other coronaviruses because little was known about it, Brewer explained.

Based on the reporting so far, Brewer said 7 percent of COVID-19 cases in the United States lead to intensive care with 16 percent requiring hospitalization. That’s consistent with what is being reported in other parts of the world.

The majority of cases, Brewer said, will have mild to moderate disease and won’t require hospitalization.

The patients who go to the hospital and eventually die tend to be older – above age 65 – and have other health issues, he said, adding that nationwide, only two patients under age 20 have died of it so far.

Brewer addressed the distribution of cases in California along racial lines. While COVID-19 has had more impact on the African American community in some parts of the country, that’s not the case in California so far, with case percentages in line with the state’s demographics.

On Thursday, CDPH released demographics for California’s cases that illustrated Brewer’s observations, with race and ethnicity data for patients roughly in line with the state’s overall diversity:

– Latinos: 30 percent of cases and 26 percent of deaths (39 percent of the state’s population).
– Whites: 34 percent of cases and 38 percent of deaths (37 percent of the state’s population).
– African Americans/blacks: 7 percent of cases and 8 percent of deaths (6 percent of the state’s population).
– Asians: 13 percent of cases and 18 percent of deaths (15 percent of the state’s population).
– Multiracial: 2 percent of cases and 1.5 percent of deaths (2 percent of the state’s population).
– American Indians or Alaska Natives: 0.2 percent of cases and 0.4 percent of deaths (0.5 percent of the states’ population).
– Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders: 2 percent of cases and 0.8 percent of deaths (0.3 percent of the state’s population).
– Other: 13 percent of cases and 8 percent of deaths.

Brewer on Wednesday also pointed out that New York has nearly 10 times the number of cases reported in California so far.

He attributed California’s lower numbers to the very aggressive work of public health officers and leaders who initiated the shelter in place orders.

Those efforts, Brewer said, are lowering California’s curve.

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.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that starting this Sunday, California workers who are receiving unemployment benefits will begin receiving an extra $600 on top of their weekly amount, as part of the new Pandemic Additional Compensation, or PAC, initiated by the CARES Act.

This comes as record numbers of unemployment claims are being filed on a weekly basis in the state, the governor reported.

Newsom said this is an important benefit that will help individual Californians and small businesses, especially those that are struggling economically as a result of COVID-19.

“Many Californians are feeling the effects of this pandemic, and this added benefit is very important to our workers so they have needed resources during this difficult time,” said Newsom.

In the last four weeks, California has processed about 2.3 million unemployment insurance claims, which is more than the total number of claims filed in 2019.

Just for the week ending on Saturday, April 4, the California Employment Development Department processed 925,450 claims, which is a 2,418 percent increase over the same week last year.

Additionally, the Employment Development Department paid a total of nearly $684.3 million in unemployment benefits to Californians in need in the last four weeks, supporting families and their local economies.

For more information on how to apply for unemployment insurance benefits and what claimants need to know about these new $600 additional payments, visit the EDD website.

“I want to thank both our federal partners, as well as everyone in our Labor Agency and the staff in the Employment Development Department, who are working around the clock to ensure California workers have the resources they need to get through this difficult time,” said Newsom.

Visit www.covid19.ca.gov for critical steps Californians can take to stay healthy and resources available to those impacted by the outbreak.

After being overwhelmed with the response to its Thursday emergency meeting on possible delays or suspensions to recreational fishing due to COVID-19, the California Fish and Game Commission said it has rescheduled the virtual meeting to next week.

Hundreds of people got onto the call – many of them angrily speaking over each other – and as a result, some of the commissioners were not to be able to get onto the call, which raised the issue of quorum.

Within minutes, the virtual meeting came to a halt.

Officials said the call is being rescheduled. The time and platform have so far not been determined.

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the commission was set to discuss whether or not to temporarily grant authority to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to decide whether to delay, restrict, or suspend sport or recreational fishing in order to prevent and mitigate public health risks that may arise when people travel for fishing trips or congregate while participating in available fishing opportunities.

CDFW and the commission have received requests from county representatives and local health authorities requesting delays to sport or recreational fish openers such as the Eastern Sierra trout opener scheduled for April 25.

In a statement, Commission President Eric Sklar and California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham said they were “appreciative of the passion we heard” from those who joined the Thursday morning call.

“It is clear that the call volume was overwhelming and the technology wasn't ready. We acknowledge that this is a challenge as we attempt to navigate new technology for meetings,” they said.

“We are frustrated by what happened today and are looking for a remedy now. We understand that many members of the public and media were unable to join the call and because we also understand the importance to many of you, we need to ensure that you have an opportunity to provide input,” the statement from Sklar and Bonham said.

They said they have received a great deal of input from counties and tribes, “and we are grateful for that.”

The statement continued, “We also want to make it crystal clear that today's proposed decision was not about banning fishing statewide or locally. We are not contemplating statewide closure. The decision is to help prepare us to work with counties and tribes to make those decisions based on their requests. We are working on a tailored and surgical approach based on local needs and knowledge. We have already received some of these requests. Today's proposed action was an effort to become more nimble and ready to react when asked by a local entity to act."

When the meeting is rescheduled, it will be posted on the commission's website, sent out via listserv and advised to the media.

Comments can be made for the record at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s Public Health officer said this week he believes measures to shelter in place and maintain social distancing are working in keeping the county’s COVID-19 cases low.

Dr. Gary Pace updated the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday on the local efforts to keep the community safe from the virus, which led to Pace issuing a shelter in place order that went into effect on Mach 19 and which earlier this week he extended to May 3.

Pace told the board that social distancing is having a major impact, slowing the spread of COVID-19 and allowing health care facilities to manage things at a more reasonable rate and giving testing technology a chance to catch up.

At that point, Lake County had its first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 – reported on Sunday and Monday – with the two individuals being close family members, Pace said.

A third case was confirmed later on Tuesday and reported on Wednesday. Lake County News asked Pace via email on Wednesday if the third case was related to the other two and how it was tracked. Pace would not answer the questions and instead said a press release would be issued.

That press release was vague about the third case, but from the scant details offered it appeared that the third case was not related to the other two, and that it also had come from an out-of-county contact.

During his Tuesday update to the board, Pace said the initial Lake County case involved contact with a known case at an out-of-county workplace, “which is important.”

Pace said the two family members who are the first two patients were responsible, they were sheltering in place and didn’t have much contact with the community. The first patient was at a workplace where wearing masks was a requirement.

The preventive actions the first two patients took have led to less concern about community spread. “We could be tracing a lot of different contacts right now,” but they’re not, said Pace.

Pace said masking and shelter in place are important. “They slow the spread.”

In the last week, state and federal officials have begun to recommend that everyone wear cloth masks when out of their homes. Pace said the No. 1 reason is that it’s actually protecting their neighbors. He said people who wear masks need to be thanked.

Members of the public are encouraged not to use N95 masks or surgical masks, which officials want to keep for emergency medical workers.

In his announcement about the updated shelter in place order earlier this week, Pace said that everyone must commit to “primary strategies to limit entry and spread of the virus,” including staying at home, isolating if symptoms develop, frequent hand washing and using cloth masks when out of the house.

Lake County News asked Pace to clarify whether people found not wearing masks could be cited.

“No citations at this point, but it is the right thing to do in consideration of your neighbors,” Pace said via email.

On Tuesday, Supervisor Rob Brown questioned the latest advice to use face masks after weeks of being told by officials to do just the opposite.

Brown said it’s clear that the goal was to save the mask stockpile for nurses and first responders. “They should have just told us that to begin with,” he said, adding that people aren’t stupid.

Efforts to flatten the curve and conduct surveillance

Pace said he believes the case curve is flattening thanks to social distancing and shelter in place measures.

“If we let it up too soon, then we just lose all the progress we’ve made,” he said, adding that he hopes the effort saves lives and prevents the medical infrastructure from getting overtaxed.

Pace said Public Health is now watching for community transmission. So far, Lake County’s initial cases don’t suggest that is occurring, but Pace acknowledged that it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Once it’s in the community at large, the virus will start spreading.

The effort to track community transmission isn’t just limited to the Public Health Department.

Separately, Lake County Special Districts said that over the past couple of weeks it has been working with a research group on the East Coast that has been testing the raw sewage which enters the district’s treatment plants for evidence of SARS CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19.

Special Districts said the presence of the virus in the wastewater stream can be an indicator for the presence of the virus in the community.

The first samples were taken on March 26 and subsequent samples have been taken on a weekly basis. Special Districts said results from the first round of testing were available April 7 and in the future test results should be available three to five days after sampling.

The first set of results from the March 26 sampling did not detect evidence of the virus in any of the four samples sent in, Special Districts said.

“The goal of the study is to help track the progress and intensity of the spread of SARS CoV-2 throughout the nation and provide public health agencies with additional data to help them respond. The sample we take is a 24-hour composite sample representing one day in time,” Special Districts reported.

Test results at other agencies show some variability in virus concentration over the course of time, such as with multiple tests in a week, and as such Special Districts said some day-to-day variability is expected.

“The testing performed does not address the viability of the virus in the wastewater; however our staff treats raw sewage as having any number of potential contaminants and utilizes the appropriate personal protective equipment to keep them safe,” Special Districts reported. “As results continue to be received we will provide that information to help better understand how this virus is affecting our community.”

Looking at ‘end strategies’

Pace told the board that “We’re still really early in it,” when it comes to the response and what is to come.

“I think we’re going to know a lot more in a month,” he said, noting that what is now happening in China, Singapore and Italy is being closely watched to see what does and doesn’t work. New York is at least a month ahead of California.

“The real end point here is when we get a vaccine,” and when health officials can either tell who has it with a blood test and who has to be vaccinated, Pace said, noting those developments are probably a year off.

An antibody test is now being evaluated in order to tell who has had the virus so they can go back out and lead a normal life. But he said during the discussion that it’s not yet clear how long immunity to the virus will last.

He said the coronavirus comes from a family of viruses that is also responsible for the common cold. A person has immunity to the common cold for about a year, and immunity to the SARS virus lasts longer.

As more testing for the virus becomes available, Pace said tests will be able to quickly confirm if people are sick and so they can be isolated. Right now, he said, they are basically shutting everything down because we don’t have the tools in place to evaluate the condition.

He said that, over the next couple of months, as more technology comes online, they can start backing off on restrictions and letting certain parts of life come back to normal. He expected travel will be limited, including allowing people from the Bay Area to come to Lake County.

Pace said if people follow the precautions now, the limits could be relaxed. However, he added, “The real risk is letting off too soon,” and then “it just explodes.”

He added, “We’re really working together in a collaborative fashion to move forward.”

During the meeting, Supervisor Brown raised issues with Pace’s timeline.

“That’s not going to fly,” Brown said about Pace’s estimate that the situation would become clearer in a few months.

Brown voiced concern about the community shutdown being prolonged.

The board also received questions from community members at the meeting, including one asking that Clear Lake be reopened.

“At this point, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Pace.

When restrictions start to be loosened, reopening the lake would be one of the first actions taken, Pace said. However, in the meantime, while being on the lake is low risk in and of itself, it draws people from out of the area.

Board Chair Moke Simon voiced his support for Pace and other health officials in dealing with the pandemic.

“The enemy that we have right now is invisible. The enemy that we have now is not understood completely. It is here in our community. And those decisions we’re making now will hopefully be fighting for life and for future freedoms because life will be different as we move forward through this process,” Simon said.

“We’re moving into a whole new era and I think life is going to have a different flavor to it when we get through this,” Pace said. “I really hope people can keep focused on how they want to live in the future and how they want the community to be and how we can take care of each other in this kind of challenging time because we are being called really to look out for each other and to take care of each other. It really makes you realize what’s valuable and what’s important when you have all the fun stuff in life taken away.”

Pace added that he thinks there are people alive today because of actions that have been taken over the last few weeks to control the spread of the virus.

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. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night approved the final reading of an ordinance to update the city municipal code by adopting into it the latest state building code.

During the half-hour virtual meeting, Assistant City Manager Kevin Ingram presented to the council an ordinance adopting the 2019 California Building Code, along with additional revisions, to the Lakeport Municipal Code. The new ordinance also removes obsolete building codes.

The staff report for the item can be found in the agenda packet published below, beginning on page 45.

The proposed ordinance was introduced at the council’s March 17 meeting.

Ingram said Tuesday that the California Building Standards Commission updates the state building codes every three years.

The 2019 codes were published on July 1 and became applicable to all building permit applications on or after Jan. 1, he said.

The California Building Standards Code consists of administrative, building, residential, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, energy, historical building, fire, existing building, green building and reference standards codes, according to Ingram’s written report.

Ingram said local jurisdictions can adopt more stringent standards as well as appendices. He said the city was not recommending any more stringent standards, although it did want to add several appendices that deal with grading, patio covers, and existing buildings and structures, which are some of the most common building code items.

The updated ordinance also removed references to older building codes going back as far as 1997 and 2001. While they were still referenced, Ingram said the city hadn’t been using those older codes.

He said staff has set it up so that in three years when the next updated building code is ready, only minor changes would be needed to adopt it into the municipal code.

There was no public comment and the council approved the ordinance 5-0.

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.

040720 Lakeport City Council Agenda Packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has more new dogs available this week.

The shelter has moved most of its dogs into foster. Potential adopters can make appointments to meet and adopt available dogs.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

‘Aaron’

“Aaron” is a male boxer mix puppy with a short brown coat with black and white markings.

He is dog No. 3726.

‘Angel’

“Angel” is a female boxer mix puppy with a short brown coat with black and white markings.

She is dog No. 3727.

‘Buddy’

“Buddy” is a male spaniel mix with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 3667.

‘Cha-Chi’

“Cha-Chi” is a male Chihuahua with a short gold and white coat.

He is dog No. 3661.

‘Duchess’

“Duchess” is a female Chihuahua puppy with a short tan coat.

She is dog No. 3618.

‘Fable’

“Fable” is a female husky with a smooth brown and buff coat.

She is dog No. 3044.

‘Freckles’

“Freckles” is a female Australian Cattle Dog mix with a short red and white coat.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3668.

‘Lucious’

“Lucious” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a short gray and white coat.

He is dog No. 3690.

‘May’

“May” is a female German Shepherd mix puppy with a short tan and white coat.

She is dog No. 3743.

‘Mitch’

“Mitch” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier with a short brindle and white coat.

He is dog No. 3733.

‘Phoebe’

“Phoebe” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix with a short black and white coat.

She is dog No. 3483.

‘Princess’

“Princess” is a female German Shepherd with a black and tan coat.

She has been spayed.

Princess is young and energetic. She previously lived around a smaller dog and has been around the office cat. She will benefit from training and attention.

She is dog No. 3669.

‘Tucker’

“Tucker” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier puppy with a short white and gray coat.

He is dog No. 3717.

‘Tyson’

“Tyson” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier with a short gray and white coat.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 1863.

‘Woodrow’

“Woodrow” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 3281.

Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.

Hours of operation are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s website.

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.