Sonoma County COVID-19 Deaths Reach 20. Newsom Says Positivity Rate Steady.

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On a day in which the number of COVID-19 deaths in Sonoma County reached 20, governor Gavin Newsom cautioned that the state of California is still in a vunerable position with positivity rates holding steady at over 7 percent.

Although the past five days have not seen the record number of new daily cases across Sonoma County as did the prior week, hospitalizations have remained elevated, with the state reporting 50 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients being treated in Sonoma County hospitals as of Sunday. The latest death was confirmed to be a resident in a senior case facility. In all, 15 of the 20 county virus deaths have come since the last week of June.

Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon, Sonoma County health officer Dr. Sundari Mase said she expected to see figures by the end of the week showing that community spread of the coronavirus has increased locally beyond the currently indicated level of 10 percent. She said the anticipated increase is due in large part to recent holiday gatherings and people socializing outside of their own family groups.

This mirrors a message delivered today by California governor Gavin Newsom, who said that the personal choices of millions of Californians are driving the recent surge in cases, and only those choices can bring the pandemic back under control.

A week ago Newsom ordered the closure of indoor business activities statewide that are considered at highest risk, including restaurants and bars, personal service providers, malls, movie theaters and other businesses. And futher rollbacks were ordered in 33 so called “watch list” counties including Sonoma, Napa and Marin where coronavirus outbreaks were being closely monitored.