County Health Officials Concerned Over Rate Of Increase Of Coronavirus Cases

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — As California inches its way to phase three of reopening, positive coronavirus cases continue to rise at a speed that is troubling county health officials.

"I think we need to be prepared that as we open up, we might open up too far too fast and if that happens, we may need to adjust," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, Infectious Disease Physician at UC Davis Children's Hospital.

Dr. Blumberg warns that we will not see the impacts of reopening until at least two weeks.

"You just don't know. It's a concern. It's just like when you see traffic slowing in front of you. Do you slam on the breaks or do you just slowly slow down and you have to adjust to the situation? I think that is what we are all going to need to do," he said.

Sacramento County currently has the 16th highest number of coronavirus cases among 58 counties. In the past two weeks at least 250 people have been diagnosed with around five deaths. County health officials say the numbers do not account for the increase we may see from thousands of people gathering on a memorial day and for protests.

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"I would hate to see us lose all the progress that we have made. We are still doing well but we do need to be careful. We do need to rethink some of those activities that we engage in especially when it comes to gatherings," said county public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye.

In the same two-week time frame, hospitalizations went from eight to 33 people. Fourteen of those patients are in the ICU. At the county's peak time of infection 70 patients were hospitalized.

Dr. Kasirye believes the increase is due to some home gatherings. She cautions despite reopening, the virus has not gone away. More than 500,000 residents live within the county, despite this, Kasirye said the rate of the increase in positive cases is concerning.

"Even though right now we do see an increase in cases, we know that was expected and we are able to handle it. It is still of concern when we see numbers rise so quickly," she said.

UC Davis believes they are prepared for an increase in cases if the area saw a sharp increase. Since the start of the virus, the hospital has stocked up on PPE, implemented new protocols and procedures to address a potential spike.

"We got it covered right now. If we do see a surge of cases that is when we are going to see maybe some of these measures re-implemented to make sure we do have the capacity to treat everyone," he said.

According to the county, 50% of new cases are patients ranging in age from 18-49, which is a much younger trend than the area has seen in the past. Kasirye warns that large gatherings are still not permitted. She is encouraging residents to continue to practice social distancing and health habits to avoid infection.