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On Monday, Dr. Gary Pace strongly encouraged all Lake County residents to wear masks when in public.
It was the same day he reported the county’s fifth confirmed case of COVID-19.
“The predicted rise of cases and severe illness in our area has not materialized due to the significant effort that the community has made to ‘shelter in place,’” said Pace, who issued a countywide shelter in place order on March 19 that has been extended to May 3.
“Cases that have popped up do not appear to have spread within the county, thanks to people’s decreased mobility, use of masks and care with handwashing. Limiting out-of-county travel has also slowed entry of the virus into our area,” Pace said in his Monday statement.
He urged people to continue to follow the shelter in place order, to stop all nonessential activities and maintain good hygiene and routine cleaning.
Pace said Lake County’s low numbers at this point indicate “we may be able to avoid the severe crush of illness that has unfolded in some urban areas like New York, New Orleans and Detroit. A month ago, the momentum for such a surge seemed to be building in our neighboring counties to the south, but local and state efforts to stop the spread clearly have been successful.”
He continued, “Since masking is one way to limit spread in settings where vulnerable individuals are present, I am increasing the strength of the recommendations for face coverings. At this point, there is no intention to mandate face coverings for the general public, but I strongly encourage their use anytime someone goes out of the house.”
Pace is taking a different approach from that of some neighboring counties.
On Friday, Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan issued a revised shelter in place order that made facial coverings in public mandatory in certain instances, such as during recreation activities in parks. That county has had four confirmed cases, all now reported to have recovered.
Then, on Monday, Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase went further, issuing a new health order requiring everyone to wear face coverings in public starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, April 17.
Sonoma County had 152 confirmed cases and two deaths as of Monday night.
“All persons shall wear facial coverings before they enter any indoor facility besides their residence, any enclosed open space, or while outdoors when the person is unable to maintain a six-foot distance from another person at all times,” Sonoma County’s order states.
Employers who continue to operate and require their employees to leave their residence to work or provide a service must ensure that their employees comply with the order, and governments and business owners are allowed to refuse admission or service to any customer or visitor who fails to wear facial coverings, Mase’s order states.
With N95 and surgical masks continuing to be in short supply, Pace said they should be reserved for use by health care professionals, who are required to wear masks at work, as are workers in congregate-living facilities, like assisted living or memory care sites.
First responders are encouraged to continue following established practices for personal protective equipment, and workers in grocery stores and pharmacies are likewise strongly encouraged to follow recent Federal Drug Administration guidance to wear facial coverings when at work, Pace said.
The CDC cautions, “Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.”
Guidance and options for making your own cloth masks are provided here.
For Lake County-specific COVID-19 information, visit Lake County Health Services Department’s website, email
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The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an independent global health research organization at the University of Washington School of Medicine, began issuing forecasts of resource use and peak deaths last month, as Lake County News has reported.
The institute said it has been able to fine-tune its forecasts thanks to more data, better models and improved methods.
In one of its initial forecasts last month, the institute estimated that total COVID-19 deaths in California projected through Aug. 4 would reach approximately 4,306, while total deaths overall in the state were expected to reach more than 6,100.
This week, however, the institute’s updated analysis put California’s death total through early August at 1,483, a 65-percent decrease from that original estimate.
As of Monday night, more than 720 COVID-19 deaths were reported in California, based on reports from the 58 county Public Health departments.
The institute this week also adjusted its forecast to predict that California’s COVID-19 deaths would peak on Sunday, April 19, at 52 per day; initially, the peak had been estimated to be double that, at 100 deaths per day, and set to occur on April 25.
California’s peak resource use – referring to hospitals – is forecast for this Friday, April 17, with 2,004 beds, 479 of them in intensive care units, needed, along with 412 ventilators. The institute’s initial projection late last month had been for peak resource use on April 26, when more than 10,000 beds – 1,500 of them in ICUs – and 1,200 ventilators were expected to be needed.
For the nation as a whole, the institute’s updated forecasts said that hospital resource use peaked on April 10. On that day, 56,831 hospital beds – including 15,164 ICU beds – and 13,851 ventilators were used. Additionally, there was a shortage of 3,498 beds and 7,369 ICU beds, based on the data.
The nation’s deaths per day peaked on Monday, April 13, at 2,150 deaths, the institute said.
Overall, the institute forecasts deaths nationwide to total 68,841 through Aug. 4, down from an initial estimate of 81,000, an 18-percent reduction.
The institute has qualified its results by saying that its updated forecasts are dependent upon the continuing implementation of social distancing and related measures.
“Our model assumes social distancing stays in place until the pandemic, in its current phase, reaches the point when deaths are less than 0.3 per million people. Based on our latest projections, we expect social distancing measures to be in place through the end of May,” the institute reported.
Institute officials said they also are working to forecast what would happen if social distancing measures were lifted before the pandemic is under control. That work will be shared once it’s complete.
“Our forecasts of zero deaths in July and August assume that appropriate measures are put in place to guard against the reintroduction of COVID-19 from another state or country. These measures may include mass screening, contact tracing, testing of all individuals entering the country, and quarantine of people who test positive. Details on what these strategies need to be will be analyzed in future editions of the forecasts,” the institute said.
Just how to transition from the current social distancing and shelter in place protocols that Public Health leaders in Lake County are crediting for keeping local numbers low so far is the next big question.
“Decision-making to end preventive measures currently in place is highly complex,” Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said in a Monday statement.
“Relaxing restrictions too quickly would likely bring on a severe surge, according to experts,” Pace said. “Yet, waiting too long to reintroduce activities will cause even greater financial, educational and social hardship.”
He added, “Before we are able to relax some of the general restrictions, we need to monitor a bit longer, to ensure no overwhelming surge will occur, put more protections in place for the most vulnerable community members, and develop a clear plan, in conjunction with neighboring counties.”
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The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office said the wreck occurred at 12:10 p.m. Sunday on Highway 20 east of Harvey Boulevard.
Michael Weschke, 38, of Fortuna was driving a 2013 Kenworth semi truck hauling a 2008 tank trailer westbound in the course of his employment with Steve Will's Trucking & Logging, the CHP said. The trailer was loaded with approximately 6,000 gallons of milk.
As Weschke was nearing Harvey Boulevard, the tractor/trailer overturned on the roadway. The CHP said the trailer separated from the truck, left the roadway and entered Clear Lake.
The CHP said the trailer's tank ruptured and released an undetermined amount of milk into the lake.
Swift actions on behalf of Northshore Fire Protection District personnel prevented the release of any other hazardous materials into the lake, the CHP said.
The CHP said Weschke, who was wearing his seat belt, suffered major injuries and was transported by air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Driving under the influence is not believed to be a factor in this collision, the CHP said.
The roadway was reported to be closed temporarily while cleanup and removal took place.
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Over the last several weeks, staff across the three college sites – including the Lake County Campus in Clearlake – have been preparing and are now operating remotely until further notice.
“Our priority continues to be the safety of our college community while continuing to deliver quality instruction and student services, albeit remotely. We want to make sure that our students can continue with their educational goals without disruption during this health crisis,” said WCC president Art Pimentel.
Transition to remote student services and instruction
On March 18, the college officially transitioned instruction and student services to remote operations.
The college created a task force to address student, professional staff and faculty needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty participated in on-site and remote workshops to assist them in the transition to remote instruction.
To further assist students, the college developed a resource page to help them access services available, including hours of operation and student support services like academic counseling, financial aid, and admissions and records.
Students can visit the college’s resource page at http://wcc.yccd.edu/remote-instruction or may call during normal hours of operation at 530-661-5700.
For those students who do not have access to computers at home, the Yuba Community College District is purchasing laptops/Chromebooks which will be available to students as part of a lending program through the end of the spring semester.
Those students who are interested in requesting a device to complete, are asked to complete a laptop request form sent to students directly via their YCCD student email addresses.
Additionally, through the college’s continued partnership with the Yolo Food Bank, students experiencing food insecurity can contact Yolo Food Bank at 530-668-0690 or
Summer and fall schedules
WCC is planning a robust class schedule for the summer and fall 2020 terms.
The class schedules are available on the college’s website. Students can begin to register for the new terms on Monday, April 20.
Social distancing will continue to impact the college’s operations for the coming months, officials reported.
The goal for the summer and fall terms has been to develop a course schedule that is flexible to transition to remote instruction if needed, but one that firmly focuses on the needs of students and their ability for program completion and transfer.
“We look forward to continuing this journey together for the benefit of the students we are fortunate to serve,” Yuba Community College District Chancellor Douglas Houston said.