Coronavirus Cases Continue To Climb In Marin County

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus continue to steadily climb in Marin County. Five additional cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Thursday in Marin, bringing the county's total to 65.*

With COVID-19 cases continuing to increase in Marin and across the Bay Area, the county's legal counsel and Marin County Public Health are reviewing a proposed extension and expansion of the shelter-in-place order, which is currently in effect through April 7.

"There are indications, including reductions in positive test rate at our point of testing site, that the shelter-in-place has been an effective tool in 'flattening the curve,'" a daily update from public health officials said. "Keep protecting your family 'cocoon' by abiding by the order."

The order instructs community members to not mix households, stay in their neighborhood, stay close to their home for physical activity, and travel for essential services only.

The Marin Emergency Operations Center on Thursday advanced plans for an anticipated medical surge, which includes the disposition of COVID-19 patients who live in long-term care facilities.

Currently, residents of long-term care facilities who test positive for COVID-19 remain hospitalized but officials are exploring alternative discharge options.

"In preparation for an anticipated medical surge, we need to optimize utilization of our acute care hospitals," officials said.

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Marin has tested 627 people for coronavirus at the county's drive-thru testing site.

Eight Marin residents have been hospitalized due to the illness. There have been no reported deaths in the county.

Of those with confirmed cases in the county, two are 18 or younger, 10 are between 19 and 34 years old, 12 are between 35 and 49 years old, 19 are between 50 and 64 years old, and 22 are 65 or older.

At this point in Marin's response, the county is not releasing any personal information about the confirmed cases, including location, due to client confidentiality concerns, according to Laine Hendricks, spokeswoman for the Marin County Office of Emergency Services.

"That being said, we are monitoring the geographic trends to understand the movement of the virus," Hendricks said in an email to Patch.

In order to release geographical data, there would need to be a "sufficient number of confirmed cases per zip code for us to safely convey this information without disclosing protected information," Hendricks added.

Based on information from the county's public health officials, however, she said "it's definitely present around Marin County."

Hendricks noted that when a coronavirus case is confirmed, public health officials conduct a contact investigation, which focuses on identifying and isolating people with high or medium risk of infection from a confirmed case.

(*Note: The county reported 65 cases in a daily email update but is reporting 64 in its surveillance reports. We've reached out to the county for confirmation on the number of cases.)

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• California Coronavirus: Live Updates On Cases, Closures, Orders