Tuolumne County, CA.. There are a total of 24 new cases to report as of November 13th, 2020. They include two males under 20 and one female under 20, two men and one woman in their 20’s, two women and three men in their 30’s, one woman and three men in their 40’s, three women in their 50’s, two women in their 60’s, one man and one woman in their 70’s and two men in their 80’s. Of those, two individuals were hospitalized. Fourteen individuals previously isolated at home and one hospitalized individual were released from isolation November 13th, 2020.

• As a reminder, anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should stay at home and avoid exposing others while awaiting testing and/or test results. Make an appointment to get tested as soon as possible and notify your physician’s office if experiencing anything other than mild symptoms. Visit www.valleycovidhelp.com for more information.

• The California Department of Public Health has released a new travel advisory for travel in and out of California. Persons arriving from outside the state on non-essential travel should quarantine for 14 days after arrival and should limit their interactions to their immediate households. All Californians are encouraged to limit non-essential travel outside the state to reduce the risk of virus transmission and bringing the virus home. See the full advisory here: www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/CID/DCDC/pages/COVID-19/Travel-Advisory.aspx

• Because much of the state is experiencing a surge in COID-19 cases, new guidelines have been released by CDPH for safe holiday gatherings. New CDPH guidelines can be found here: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Guidance-for-the-Prevention-of-COVID-19-Transmission-for-Gatherings-November-2020.aspx Please take these recommendations into account when making holiday plans.

• The new state testing site is seeing large numbers of people seeking testing. Pre-registration is now required and walk-ins can no longer be accommodated. Turnaround times for results have reportedly been longer than expected, sometimes over a week. As previously reported, a delay was expected as the State sites transitioned to a new lab. Increased demand for testing is also a cause of delay as labs struggle to meet demand. We are working with the State testing task force and will provide updates on expected improvement in testing turnaround times as we learn more. Other testing options may be available to people through their physician offices. Some people have reported success using the drive-thru testing service at CVS in Oakdale.

• Appointments for COVID-19 tests are available between 7 AM and 7 PM Tuesday through Saturday at the state testing site at the Motherlode Fairgrounds.  Make your appointment at www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling (888) 634-1123. People are encouraged to take advantage of this resource and get tested right away if they have symptoms of COVID-19, five days after travel or having had close contact with others outside of their household, and test routinely if they work in high risk settings such as healthcare, corrections or congregate care facilities or if they have frequent interactions with the public through work or other community engagement.