From the Humboldt County Joint Information Center:
Almost a year since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Humboldt County, the data suggests that younger adults – the 20-29 and 30-39 age groups – remain the largest percentage of the total cases. As it will probably take months before people in these age groups are eligible to receive the vaccine, health officials encourage routine testing and ongoing safety precautions.
In the most recent weekly update of the Humboldt County Data Panel (humboldtgov.org/dashboard), residents aged 20 to 29 accounted for about 24% of all cases, while those aged 30 to 39 accounted for approximately 20% of the total cases. Both groups have consistently maintained the highest rates since the end of September 2020, and the gap between them and other age groups has only widened since the end of November 2020.
Public health officials have previously noted that people in these age groups tend to constitute a large part of the essential workforce and are often unable to work from home. “Although vaccines are part of our way out of the pandemic, they are just one piece of the puzzle,” said Sam Gentle, Head of the Logistics Section of the Emergency Operations Center. “We need to continue practicing these proven behaviors that are now part of life – wearing masks in public, staying at least 6 feet away from people outside your home, washing your hands frequently and traveling only for essential purposes. Tests, even for those without symptoms, remain a great tool to identify the amount of viruses that are circulating in our community. ”
Tests are still available free of charge through the state-owned testing provider COVID-19, OptumServe, seven days a week on Redwood Acres in Eureka. Walk-ins are available on all OptumServe sites and the response time for results averages 48 to 72 hours. See the full schedule below:
- Eureka – Seven days a week, from 7 am to 7 pm (Redwood Acres, 3750 Harris St.)
- Arcata – Mondays, from 8 am to 5:30 pm (Arcata Community Center, 321 MLK Jr. Pkwy.)
- Garberville – Tuesdays, 9 am – 4:30 pm (SoHum Health Sprowl Creek Campus, 286 Sprowl Creek Road)
- • Fortune – Wednesdays, from 8 am to 5:30 pm (River Lodge Conference Center, 1800 Riverwalk Dr.)
- Hoopa – Thursdays, from 9 am to 3:30 pm (Tsewenaldin Inn, 12482 CA-96)
- McKinleyville – Fridays from 8 am to 5:30 pm (Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Road)
To schedule an appointment:
- • Go to lhi.care/covidtesting or
- • Call 888-634-1123.