SALINAS — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 data tracker reports that 81.1% of eligible Monterey County residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 69.1% are fully vaccinated.
Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said at Wednesday’s media briefing that case rates have been trending downward in the county, the region and across the state. He emphasized the focus is on trends, not day-to-day changes, and trends show that case rates and test positivity rates are decreasing while hospitalizations remain stable and show an overall trend of decreasing.
Monterey County’s current case rate is 10.2 per 100,000 according to the California Department of Public Health dashboard and its test positivity rate is 3.5%. Last week, the case rate was 9.1 per 100,000 and the test positivity rate was 2.8%. On Sept. 8, the county’s case rate was 9.8, and its positivity rate was 3.7%. A week prior, the case rate was 13.2, and test positivity was 4.2%. On Aug. 25, the case rate in the county was 12.2 and the positivity rate was 4.1%. Monterey County’s case rate was 12.2 per 100,000 on Aug. 18, and its test positivity rate was 5.3%.
During the latest surge fueled by the delta variant, hospitalizations peaked Aug. 31 at 50. On Sept. 15, they were at 39, and currently, there are 33 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the county.
There are 194 active COVID-19 cases in the Monterey County Jail, or 22% of the jail population, an increase of 64 from the previous daily report. The jail population is currently 889 and 722 of the inmate population has been tested with one currently hospitalized.
“We recommend that testing be increased in frequency including people who could be asymptomatic because they may have contracted COVID and may be spreading it within the facility,” said Moreno.
The health officer said that when there is an increase in a facility such as the Monterey County Jail, the health department makes itself available to help try to decrease the number of cases and reduce transmission.
The health department also reviews and emphasizes sanitation protocols and also infection control protocols such as distancing, face coverings and hand washing. It also encourages individuals working in the facility to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccine.
While Monterey County officials say they continue to focus on decreasing case and positivity rates, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently meeting to discuss who will be eligible for booster shots.
Last Friday, advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend COVID-19 booster shots for those 65 years of age and older, and those at high risk of severe illness, but stopped short of calling for boosters for all Americans. The panel also recommended that health care workers and others at high risk of occupational exposure, such as teachers, be included.
