The two new confirmed cases are from the same household, Modoc County health officials said in a press release, adding that they are now trying to track down anyone who has been in contact with the two people. They also ask any resident who has visited a local bar in the past two weeks to get in touch.
The cases have been escalating across the state, surpassing 466,000 this week with thousands added every day. At least 8,518 people have died, according to the California Department of Public Health. More than 6,890 people are hospitalized across the state, 1,975 of whom are in the ICU.
The two people in Modoc County who tested positive are recovering at home and have not been hospitalized, authorities said. A local hospital is now tightening the restrictions, Modoc health officials said, and a nursing facility has closed visits.
“How fortunate we have been to not see Covid-19 in our county so far, but it is here and we could see an increase in the number of cases in the coming weeks,” Stacy Sphar, director of health services, said in a statement. .
“Now more than ever, it is of utmost importance to respect and follow CDC guidelines for reducing Covid-19 transmission.”
Modoc County, located in the northeast corner of the state, near Oregon and Nevada, it is one of the least populated counties in California, with less than 9,000 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau. He was also one of the first to start reopening his economy in early May, defying Governor Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
Modoc is one of the other five counties in California that have reported fewer than 10 cases of the virus, including Sierra, Alpine and Trinity, which are located in the northern part of the state. In Los Angeles County, which houses the majority of the state’s cases, there have been more than 176,000 infections.
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