A meeting between the media and a panel of heath care specialists Wednesday revealed that there are new concerns regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada County.

Jill Blake of Nevada County Public Health said we are in the midst of a surge. She reported that they are only updating their dashboard on the public health website twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

“We updated our dashboard yesterday to add 185 new cases this week,” said Blake. “I will say that that only captures those tests that were PCR tests, lab confirmed tests, and that does not include those that are being done at home.”

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“For those of you who remember the color-coded system that indicated which tier we were in, purple tier was the most severe tier indicating widespread transmission and high case rates and high positivity rates. Based on our PCR test results alone (and) our case rate we are placed in the purple tier.”

Blake added that there are currently five people locally hospitalized with COVID-19, which she said was “not a low number.”

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Dr. Glennah Trochet said, “In public health we have continually recommended that everybody wear a mask; the highest quality mask that you can tolerate. And we continue to recommend that. When you go out into public spaces right now the odds are good that you will encounter someone that might be shedding the virus, even if they’re not feeling sick.”

Trochet’s advice is that if you are feeling sick, stay home. If you test positive, remain quarantined for a minimum of five days and do not leave isolation until you begin testing negative.

Jennifer Nobles is a staff writer for The Union in Grass Valley.