FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2021
County Officials Remind the Public to Remain Vigilant During the Current COVID-19 Surge
Santa Clara County, CA – Santa Clara County reached a sobering milestone yesterday, surpassing 1,000 COVID-19 related deaths amid a continuing surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
“Our hearts go out to everyone in our community who has lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Health Officer and Director of Public Health for the County of Santa Clara. “One thousand deaths is a devastating and tragic milestone for our community. We mourn each life lost, and our goal continues to be to save as many lives as possible. The harsh reality is that COVID-19 continues to be extremely widespread in our county and throughout the state. Even though we’ve all been sacrificing for almost a year to fight this virus, prevent infections, and return to our normal lives, we must remain vigilant or we will see more deaths and extreme challenges for our hospitals and healthcare systems.”
As of yesterday, only five percent of ICU beds were available in the county, with 47 percent of the occupied beds in use for COVID-19 patients. This surge is straining hospital staff, forcing difficult decisions in care management, and leading to some longer wait times to even enter hospitals.
On a more hopeful note, COVID-19 vaccinations are well underway, with healthcare systems throughout the county rapidly scaling up capacity. All vaccination providers in the county are vaccinating healthcare workers in Phase 1A, and some have expanded eligibility to include individuals age 75 or older. However, even with the hope of increased volume of vaccine distribution, it will take many months to reach a high level of coverage and protection throughout the community. Individual actions matter and can help change the course of the pandemic: social distancing, consistently wearing masks, and staying home except for essential activities are still our best tools to limit the spread of the virus.
The County’s website at sccfreevax.org is the official source for vaccine-related information in Santa Clara County, and is regularly updated to reflect which community members are currently eligible to receive the vaccine, as well as how those individuals can schedule appointments.
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