COVID-19 infections are rising in Ventura County, hospital cases remain low
COVID-19 infections continue to rise, affecting residents of Ventura County who have escaped the disease for more than two years.
Unlike previous waves, however, only a few of those infected become ill enough to be admitted for care. Only 16 people with the disease were admitted to the county on Friday.
Ventura County Health Officer Robert Levin said the rising infections reflect people’s more relaxed attitudes toward following COVID-19 precautions. He has attributed the decrease in the severity of diseases to higher vaccination levels and corona subvariants that have become less virulent.
“This may be the new reality,” he said. “That may be what we learn to live with.”
State data published on Friday showed a rate of 14 infections per day per. 100,000 people in the county – the highest in more than two months. Nearly 7% of people infected with the virus in PCR tests were positive, a level that has not been exceeded since mid-February.
Levin said the infection rate is likely to be higher than the data indicates because home tests are not included in state data. Prognosis people predict the county’s daily infections could almost triple in the next month.
Outbreaks have also been reported in long-term care facilities, schools and businesses, public health officials said. Many of the business incidents involve three or four cases where an outbreak reaches seven people.
Doctors confirmed the COVID wave, with some reporting a slight increase while others said the increase has been dramatic.
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“I’ve had four (cases) this morning. I’ve only been in the office for an hour,” said Dr. Jim Hornstein, a Ventura family practitioner, Friday. “It definitely feels like a hike right now.”
Hornstein said he is prescribing the antiviral drug Paxlovid to patients at higher risk for serious illness. The medicine should be taken within five days after the first symptoms. He said the pills seem to help, but that’s hard to say because admissions are rare for people at lower risk who are not taking the medication.
Many of his infected patients have been vaccinated and some have been boosted. Hornstein said the shots do not eliminate infections but reduce the risk of serious illness.
The disease can spread quickly and easily. But sometimes one spouse will get the disease and the other will not, Hornstein said.
“It’s a very confusing, confusing virus,” he said.
Cases are rising, but not as high as in Los Angeles County, said Jeff Cox, who heads Carbon Health Acute Care Centers in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. Carbon Health also runs clinics in the San Fernando Valley that are being hit harder by the virus, she said.
Levin said people who are infected risk long-term COVID and symptoms that can last for several months. He urged people to be vaccinated and boosted. He advised all people to wear masks indoors in public places.
“It is the responsibility of people who are elderly or at risk to wear masks, no matter what other people do,” he said.
Across the nation, flags are flown at half-staff to honor the 1 million Americans who have died from COVID. In Ventura County, 1,498 deaths have been linked to the disease.
County Public Health Director Rigoberto Vargas said the county is likely to reach 1,500 COVID-19 deaths when new data is released Tuesday.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for Ventura County Star. Reach him at [email protected] or 805-437-0255.
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