3 New Coronavirus Cases Found In Santa Cruz County; Total of 7

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The Santa Cruz County Public Health Division announced three additional cases of the new coronavirus in the county. This brings the total of cases of coronavirus cases in Santa Cruz County to seven.

That number is expected to grow soon, as public health officials have tested "many more" people recently and expects to see more cases, the county said in a Thursday night statement.

Officials believe community spread is occurring in Santa Cruz County, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as meaning "some (patients) are not sure how or where they became infected."

The county said it remains in touch with patients and continues to monitor all cases.

“We have shifted our efforts away from containment and towards mitigation,” said county Health Officer Gail Newel in the statement. “We continue to work closely with our regional, state and national partners in our efforts to lessen the impact of COVID-19.”

Schools will remain open Friday, but all public schools in Santa Cruz County will close March 16 to 20, since more positive coronavirus test results are expected, according to a memo from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

There were nearly 200 coronavirus cases statewide as of Thursday morning, the county said. Four patients have died.

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The county did not elaborate on how the newly announced patients are thought to have contracted coronavirus.

The county announced two more positive patients Wednesday, but was still investigating how they may have been infected.

One of those patients is in isolation in another county and the other was linked to Rio Del Mar Elementary School in Aptos. The school was closed for a deep cleaning and plans to reopen March 16.

Patients in the other two previously announced cases were thought to have become infected during a trip to Seattle and while aboard the Grand Princess from San Francisco to Mexico from Feb. 11-21.

Last week Newel issued a Local Health Emergency for the new coronavirus due to concerns about its spread in neighboring counties and a need to prepare for a potential outbreak.

Anyone with concerns about their health should contact their doctor or call 211 to find a local clinic. The county encourages the public to visit santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus for local updates and links to important CDC updates.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday to provide additional resources, prevent price gouging and help the state better prepare for the virus's spread.

The emergency declaration followed the first known coronavirus-related death in California — an elderly Placer County resident who was exposed to the virus on a Grand Princess cruise Feb. 11-21 from San Francisco to Mexico and back.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak here on the CDC website.