SANTA CRUZ — For the first time since mid-May, Santa Cruz County recorded a COVID-19-related death in its data dashboard.
On Monday, the county’s COVID-19 death toll increased from 207 residents to 209 residents. County officials were expecting this jump as they had been warned by local doctors that two recent deaths may have been caused, at least in part, by the virus. Death certificates confirmed the suspicion.
The county provided further details in a statement issued in the afternoon, stating that both individuals were unvaccinated. One was a north county resident while the other was a mid-county resident; both were in their 70s.
Side-by-side screenshots of the dashboard, kept as record by this newspaper, show that one of the deceased was a man and the other was a woman. Their race is listed as “unknown.” Neither was a congregate living facility resident.
Each individual suffered the ramifications of contracting a Delta variant case, according to the county statement. Both individuals died Aug. 2 in nearby hospitals due to the community spread of the Delta variant.
“With the widespread availability of vaccines, we had hoped to avoid further deaths and serious illnesses due to COVID-19,” Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said in the statement. “Unfortunately, that is not happening, and our health care system is being impacted once more.”
Newel, as she has since vaccines became widely attainable, stressed the power of getting vaccinated.
“If you have loved ones who have not been vaccinated, please urge them to do so as quickly as possible,” she said.
The county’s vaccine dashboard indicates that nearly 66% of all county residents are partially vaccinated while approximately 58% are fully vaccinated.
Doubling down
Some residents do not feel as though stressing vaccination is enough. As of Monday afternoon, more than 400 individuals had signed a Change.org petition calling for the institution and enforcement of an indoor mask mandate in Santa Cruz County.
County Spokesman Jason Hoppin said that the county does not make health care decisions based on Change.org petitions.
“We’ll look at the numbers and if a (mandate) is needed we will go ahead and reconsider but there’s no change at this time,” Hoppin said.
The county’s health officer said to the Sentinel last week that the county had lower transmission rates than nearby counties. CDC data shows a high level of COVID-19 transmission as Santa Cruz County kicks off its week. As recently as Friday, transmission rates were considered “substantial.” The week prior, transmission rates were reported as “moderate.”
In the last two weeks, the county has recorded 482 new cases and 311 active cases. In comparison, just one month ago the dashboard saw an uptick of only 55 new cases and eight active cases from June 25 to July 9.
Hoppin said that petitions such as this one, penned by local Julia Monahan, that ask for the redirection of public safety resources should have added consideration into how the resources are already allocated.
“They are currently occupied doing other things,” Hoppin said, referencing law enforcement agencies that the signers have asked to enforce the mandate in their jurisdictions. “So you’re going to have to take them off of some other assignment to police masks.”
By the numbers
Total cases: 17,014
Active cases: 507
Recoveries: 16,298
Deaths: 209
Current ICU hospitalizations: 2
Current hospitalizations: 12
Open ICU beds: 4
Negative tests: 151,969
