California’s only county without a previously reported coronavirus case said Tuesday it is investigating its first two infections.
Both of the new confirmed cases are from the same household, Modoc County health officials said in a news release, adding they’re now trying to track anyone who may have been in contact with the two people. They also ask any resident who visited a local bar in the last two weeks to get in touch.
Cases have been climbing across the state, topping 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 statewide, 1,975 of whom are in ICUs.
Both of the people in Modoc County who tested positive are recovering at home and have not been hospitalized, officials said. A local hospital is now tightening restrictions, Modoc health officials said, and a nursing facility has closed visitation.
“How lucky we have been to not see Covid-19 in our county until now, but it’s here and we could see the number of cases increase in the next few weeks,” Stacy Sphar, the director of health services, said in a statement.
“Now more than ever, it is of the utmost importance to respect and follow the CDC’s guidelines for reducing transmission of Covid-19.”
Modoc County, located in the northeast corner of the state,near Oregon and Nevada, is one of California’s least populous counties, with less than 9,000 residents, according to the US Census Bureau. It was also one of the first to begin reopening its economy at the beginning of May, defying Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
Modoc is one of about five other counties in California that have reported less than 10 cases of the virus — including Sierra, Alpine and Trinity, which are all in the northern part of the state. In Los Angeles County, which holds the state’s most cases, there have been more than 176,000 infections.