Courtesy of www.cdc.gov

Noting that the 13 new COVID-19 cases reported Monday wasn’t a “trend he wanted to see,” the local public health officer said he was worried the uptick may be enough to put Del Norte County back in the most restrictive Purple Tier.

Del Norte County has 41 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday, according to the county’s COVID-19 Information Hub. Speaking before the Crescent City Council, Dr. Warren Rehwaldt said he is also concerned that the case increase is evidence that one of the new COVID-19 variants has shown itself in the county.

“We’ve taken some steps to look into that. That would be the most interesting thing to explain it,” he said of the new variants. “This level of cases doesn’t really affect our  medical system, but it really would impact the community at an economic level if we got back in the Purple Tier because that means we would have to stay there for awhile.”

There are no COVID-19 patients in the hospital currently, according to the Public Health Branch.

The Purple Tier is the most restrictive category on California’s color-coded Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Under this tier, restaurants would have to limit their operations to outdoor dining, takeout and delivery. Other non-essential businesses would also have to stop operations.

During his presentation before the City Council, Rehwaldt said Rite-Aid pharmacy is probably one of the largest vaccinators in Del Norte County currently. Rite-Aid is still following state guidelines as far as who they’re vaccinating currently. As of Monday, Rehwaldt said, that included seniors, teachers, agricultural and food workers.

But, Rehwaldt said, the California Department of Public Health on Monday expanded vaccine eligibility, opening it up to people with underlying medical conditions between ages 16 and 64. Those underlying health conditions include heart disease, lung disease, diabetics — any condition that requires oxygen, Rehwaldt said.

Rehwaldt pointed people to the California Department of Public Health website for more information about vaccinations.

The Crescent City Council also heard from Del Norte Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Harris. On Thursday, Harris had asked the DNUSD Board of Trustees to consider starting a letter-writing campaign, urging families to tell California Gov. Gavin Newsom and their legislators how the pandemic was impacting them and their children.

On Monday, Harris said he may ask the City Council to work with the school board in reaching out to the governor. The governor’s executive orders and guidelines from CDPH has “hogtied” DNUSD, he said.

“I don’t think Sacramento listens to Del Norte County,” he said. “We were one of the last counties in the state to have vaccines for educators. There were districts that had vaccines for educators that had never even been in school with the anticipation that at some point they may go back to school. Our staff had been back in classrooms since September and no consideration was given to that.”

Crescent City Mayor Jason Greenough agreed with Harris’s frustrations and said the Council would likely be happy to help.

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