The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nevada County had reached 7,363 by Thursday morning. There are 430 new cases since Aug. 27, indicating a 6% increase over last week.

Of the 7,363 total cases, 6,641 have been released from isolation and 637 are presently active. Since the start of August and the surge caused by the virus’ Delta variant, 10 people have died — two this week — bringing the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 85.

Nevada County administered 1,401 vaccines over the last week, bringing the total number of doses delivered to 110,266. Over the course of last week, 647 people in the county became completely vaccinated, bringing the number of fully vaccinated people up to 52,246 — over 50% of the population.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom reported 80% of adult Californians have received at least one shot earlier this week. Nevada County has a distance to go, said Ryan Gruver, the county’s director of Health and Human Services.

“We want as many people to get vaccinated as possible and continue to be cautious,” Gruver said. “I think we’re past the point where we can pretend like it’s just going to go away and we’re somehow going to achieve herd immunity if everybody gets sick, as Delta has proven this virus is changing and it’s one step ahead of us.”

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Nevada County’s Public Health Director Jill Blake said if the state’s former Blueprint for a Safer Economy system were still in place, Nevada County would be “so deeply purple“ — the most restrictive tier.

Blake said Public Health’s message of caution and the ways people can protect themselves have not changed.

County orders require everyone, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, to wear face coverings indoors in public settings and businesses.

PLACER COUNTY

As of Thursday morning, Placer County reported 30,796 COVID-19 cases, indicating a 7% rise in cases over the last week. The county’s COVID-19 dashboard indicates there were 2,131 new cases over the last week.

There were 10 recorded deaths caused by COVID-19 in Placer County last week, bringing the death toll to 326.

Placer County has distributed 447,960 vaccines since their introduction, 6,900 this week. There were 3,366 people who became fully vaccinated over the week, more than the prior week, bringing the number of fully vaccinated up to 216,066.

Placer County’s data may reflect inaccuracies.

According to the health system’s website, anyone 12 years and older can schedule an appointment at MyTurn.ca.gov.

Rebecca O’Neil is a staff writer with the Sierra Sun and The Union, a sister publication of the Sun