COVID: South Bay Coronavirus Case Numbers May Be Higher Than Reported
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- In her monthly update on the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sara Cody, Director of Public Health Department, suggested to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors relief from the current Omicron surge could come as early as the end of the month.
"'When might we expect cases to peak?' is a question that we often have, and the honest answer is we don't quite know, although some state models show we may peak sometime towards the end of this month, or perhaps early next one," said Cody.
As of Monday night, the 7-day rolling average cases continued to set another historic high, with the count at 3,391 cases. The county is conducting 25,000 coronavirus tests per day, the highest since any point during the pandemic. And the positivity rate is 15.5, also a historic high. According to Cody, many positive cases identified through at-home testing is going unreported, so the actual number of cases in the South Bay are likely much higher.
"As you all know, we are currently seeing a dramatic and really breathtaking explosion of cases," said Cody.
Cody also pointed to data that showed wide disparities in the infection rate. Those who are unvaccinated are testing positive at more than tenfold the rate of breakthrough cases, those who are vaccinated and boosted.
Another significant update, the county now has an online inventory system for COVID-19 oral antiviral medication, where healthcare providers can make a reservation for Paxlovid and Molnupiravir.
Live updates on the availability of the medication can be found here: https://www.scvmc.org/patients-visitors/services/covid-19-oral-antiviral/pharmacy-location-inventory.
About 38 ICU beds were available as of Monday night, and emergency room visits have seen some fluctuations, but are mostly stable. One of the challenges is to manage staffing shortages, as doctors and nurses test positive and quarantine, according to Cody.
"We do know that we are facing some very very difficult weeks ahead," said Cody.