50 New Cases Monday. Sonoma County Watching “Alarming” Uptick Closely.

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Sonoma County set a one day record for newly detected coronavirus cases late Monday, when the county reported 50 new cases. This comes one day after the last daily record was set; 32 new cases announced on Sunday.

Sonoma County’s health officer Dr. Sundari Mase says the rise in new cases are a “cause for alarm” especially as the county recorded its 5th death from the virus on Sunday. On Monday she emphasized what state officials have been stressing; the requirement mandated by Governor Gavin Newsom that all people wear face coverings when outside their homes.

Since June 1st, the county has recorded its top four highest one day totals of new cases.

However, Sonoma County continues to record a relatively low number of cases as a percentage of tests. There have been 935 cases reported in the county, out of more than 43 thousand tests. That comes to a positive ratio of 2.2%.

In comparison, Monday’s daily high of 50 cases was detected as a result of 1976 tests, giving a positive ratio of 2.5%. In addition, hospitalizations have remained low in the county, with the number hovering in the single digits (4 as of Monday according to county data) in recent weeks.

Another important metric health officials look at is positive tests in the past two weeks, as a percentage of population. That number is inching up. After being under 40 per 100 thousand population for weeks, it has now topped 50 per 100 thousand after Monday’s tally of new cases. Health officials will be analyzing those numbers to determine if this represents evidence of increased community spread, in addition to greater testing.

All of this comes just days after the county entered phase three of reopening, with the addition of bars, health clubs and other businesses considered at higher risk allowed to open with required health measures. And the trend mirrors much of California as reopening ramps up.

Calfornia recorded it’s largest number of new cases and hospitalizations in the past few days.

California New Cases

Hospitalizations in California

As in Sonoma County, the state rise comes as increased testing is catching more cases.

The question for county health officials and those across the state is whether to pause reopening until the source of the rise in new infections can be determined. Expect state and county officials to provide new updates in the coming week on local reopening plans and how they may be impacted by the latest virus numbers.