The COVID-19 toll in Sonoma County continues to rise, with local public health officials reporting a total of 15 recent virus-related deaths in the first six days of February.
County officials reported five deaths on Monday, two on Tuesday, three on Thursday and five more on Friday. That brings the total number of pandemic deaths to 275.
County officials released some details on the past eight deaths on Friday and Saturday. Most of these COVID-19 fatalities occurred between January 30 and February 1.
There is often a significant gap between the date of death and the date they are reported. One death, involving a man between the ages of 55 and 64 living in a skilled nursing home, occurred on December 27.
Four of the deceased were women aged 75 or older, and two of them lived in competent nursing homes, while the others lived at home. A man aged 75 or older lived in a care home for the elderly. The other two men were aged between 65 and 74 and lived at home.
On Friday evening, the province reported 165 new confirmed cases of coronavirus. Over the past five days, the province has recorded an average of just under 100 reported cases per day, a significant drop from the 250 to 300 daily new cases reported during the December and January winter surge.
Public health and infectious disease experts say that deaths often lag new cases by up to a month, so the fatal consequences of a wave are often seen even after the wave begins to subside.
“Our number of cases continues to decline,” said Dr. Sundari Mase, at a press conference on COVID-19 on Friday. Mase said the county’s average daily number of cases per 100,000 residents is now 26.9.
“And that’s just five days ago from 34.3,” she said, adding that the current number of cases is still well above the benchmark needed for the county to move to the next, less restrictive phase of the state’s reopening plan.
As the number of cases improves, so does the number of local COVID-19 hospitalizations. According to public health data, as of Friday, there were 62 local COVID-19 patients in local hospitals.
That number is significantly lower than the record 110 hospital admissions across the country on Jan. 7. Of the 62 COVID-19 patients in local hospitals, 17 receive intensive care.
You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or [email protected]. On Twitter @pressreno.