LAKEPORT— Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace updated councilmembers in regards to the county’s COVID-19 situation at the regularly scheduled Tuesday City Council meeting.
Pace told the council the biggest news is we are seeing an increase in cases around the country and around the state, a development he said was not all that surprising.
“This has been predicted for many months now that we would get into this situation once the cold weather started and people started going inside,” Pace said.
He added that there is a record high new number of cases around the state and the hospitalization rates have increased by 50 percent over the last two weeks.
Lake County now has 802 total cases in the county with 18 people who have passed away and three who are currently in hospitals.
Additionally, new cases have been on the rise in Lake County with an increased case rate of 33 from last week. Pace said if Lake County goes above 42, we will end up in the purple zone, the state’s most restrictive zone.
Two weeks ago only nine counties in the state were in the purple tier and as of Monday, there are 41 and potentially more going into the purple tier Pace said.
With the holidays coming up, Pace added that he is encouraging people to forgo the holidays this year to help prevent the spread.
Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram said with it being colder and dining being mostly limited to outdoors, the city has been looking for ways to help businesses stay open while also maintaining public safety.
“We seem to be going through a second phase of encroachment permits where restaurants are winterizing their new outdoor areas,” Ingram said. “We are making sure that our restaurants are staying open but also adhering to public safety guidelines.”
Ingram said anything the city can do to keep the county in the red tier is the focus. He said the city’s efforts will remain ongoing when it comes to this effort and so will officials’ learning about the disease as the pandemic goes on.
