News Blog

COVID-19 testing in the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory.

One New COVID-19 Case Brings County Tally to 50

by Thadeus Greenson on April 7, 2020 at 4:30PM

April 7, 2020 COVID info Total new positive cases confirmed on April 7: 1 Daily COVID-19 case report for April 7

Wear a Mask! OK, But What Kind?

by Julie Cart, CalMatters on April 7, 2020 at 8:32AM

Padula, who studies patient and worker safety in hospitals, said medical masks are designed to protect the wearer from contact with an infected patient. “It isn’t simply thinking about what I have to do for this patient sitting in front of me, but ‘How do I treat this patient, with respect to the next 10 patients who walk into this clinic?’” he said.

St. Joseph Approved to Participate in Trials of Possible COVID-19 Drug

by Thadeus Greenson on April 6, 2020 at 9:09PM

PRESS ADVISORY For immediate release COVID – 19 Experimental Drug Cleared for Clinical Trials in Humboldt County St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka chosen to administer Remdesivir

Eureka Mayor Talks Efforts to Protect Homeless Residents (VIDEO)

by Thadeus Greenson on April 6, 2020 at 8:14PM

COVID-19 Mayor PSA HOMELESSNESS

Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory staff analyzing a COVID-19 test.

Public Health: Five Positive COVID-19 Tests Bring County Total to 49

by Thadeus Greenson on April 6, 2020 at 5:28PM

Humboldt County Public Health announced this afternoon that five COVID-19 tests from local residents have come back positive since Saturday, bringing the county's total to 49. Forty-seven of those positive tests have been returned in the last 13 days, with 28 over the past week.

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone.

Supes Talk County COVID Response, Eviction Moratorium and Property Tax Deadline

by Thadeus Greenson on April 6, 2020 at 4:40PM

Eviction MoratoriumMadrone asked the board to consider adopting an eviction moratorium ordinance to better protect local tenants who may fall behind on rent due to COVID-19 related job losses and economic hardship. Wilson said this is a very “high-stress time” and this could provide people some reassurance but Bohn pushed back, suggesting landlords would work with their tenants and questioning whether the ordinance was really necessary.

L.A. Times: Scientists Concerned over Potential COVID-19 Exposure from Beach Walks and Swimming

by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on April 6, 2020 at 12:35PM

The Los Angeles Times is reporting potential COVID-19 infection risk at California beaches, not just from other people out for walks and surfing, but from the ocean and its spray. The piece quotes Kim Prather, an atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who "worries SARS-CoV-2 could enter the ocean from sewage spills and outfalls, and then reenter the atmosphere." Prather's concern about beach exposure to the virus, about which scientists are still learning, is not just about swimming in potentially polluted ocean waters, but the particulates and "microscopic pathogens" that could wash into the ocean from rains and be delivered by spray from waves carried on the wind.

Testing supplies in the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory.

Public Health Announces Four More COVID-19 Cases, One More Hospitalization

by Thadeus Greenson on April 4, 2020 at 3:33PM

Humboldt County Public Health announced another four positive COVID-19 cases today, bringing the county's total to 44. There has also been another hospitalization, according to a Public Health press release.

Community Generosity Brings New Ventilators to Humboldt but Capacity Still a Critical Concern

by Thadeus Greenson on April 4, 2020 at 10:07AM

The race to increase Humboldt County’s capacity to care for the wave of critically ill COVID-19 cases officials fear is coming got a major boost this week, thanks to a ripple effect of generosity. It began with nearly 100 local women coming together to donate $105,000 to St. Joseph Hospital to cover the purchase of three ventilators, which inspired Humboldt State University to donate four more and two businesses and two local families to make large contributions.

News Roundup: LoCo Reports Whistleblowers at FedEx and T-S Looks at Mental Health Services in Age of COVID

by Thadeus Greenson on April 4, 2020 at 8:09AM

The Lost Coast Outpost is reporting that whistleblowers are calling out what they deem unsafe conditions in local FedEx operations that could spread the COVID-19 virus to customers and employees. The employees tell the Outpost's Ryan Burns that they don't believe proper precautions are being taken in the local warehouse and they haven't been given proper protective equipment to safely deliver packages throughout the county, especially given that at least one study has shown the virus can live on cardboard for up to 24 hours.

North Coast Journal