The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nevada County had reached 7,745 by Thursday morning. There are 382 new cases since Sept. 3, indicating a 5% increase over last week.

Of the 7,745 total cases, 6,859 have been released from isolation and 798 are presently active. Since the start of August and the surge caused by the virus’ Delta variant, 13 people have died — three this week — bringing the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 88.

Nevada County administered 953 vaccines over the last week, bringing the total number of doses delivered to 111,219. Over the course of last week, 489 people in the county became completely vaccinated, bringing the number of fully vaccinated people up to 52,735 — over 50% of the population.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom reported over 80% of adult Californians received at least one shot before September began.

According to a press release issued by public health officials, Nevada County had 488 confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the week of Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 — the highest number of weekly cases since the start of the pandemic. Over 500 confirmed cases in the month of August alone were cases involving children ages zero to 17.

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As of Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health authorized schools to implement “a modified or shortened” quarantine for unvaccinated students who have had an exposure to COVID-19 to keep kids in school as much as possible.

A shortened quarantine would allow self-quarantine at home after an exposure to be discontinued after the seventh day, if a specimen from the fifth day after the exposure tests negative; or, in a modified quarantine, some exposed students may continue to attend school as long as they are asymptomatic, continue to wear a mask, undergo at least twice weekly testing during their quarantine, and quarantine from all extracurricular activities during that time.

According to Nevada County’s Public Health Director Jill Blake, the structure of local educational institutions provides the capacity and oversight necessary to perform robust contact tracing and relevant testing.

“The health officer order was … a response to outbreaks in schools, and how we can work in a collaborative relationship with the schools to ensure that the schools can remain open, and that they’re safe environments for the kids to study,” Public Health Officer Dr. Scott Kellermann said Wednesday.

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 31,886 COVID-19 cases, indicating a 4% rise in cases over the last week. The county’s COVID-19 dashboard indicates there were 1,090 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 336.

Placer County has distributed 452,527 vaccines since their introduction, 4,297 this week. There were 2,073 people who became fully vaccinated over the week, which was more than the prior week, bringing the number of fully vaccinated up to 218,139 — 62% of the eligible population.

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