COVID-19 Status Update for 10/30/2020

The Marin County COVID-19 Status Update for October 30 includes updated COVID-19 data; a reminder to make smart decisions for Halloween and Día de los Muertos; progress in expanding the State’s testing capacity; and a shift in calculating Marin’s testing data.

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The Marin County COVID-19 Status Update is published weekdays and as needed to share important news and resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to keep the local economy running. We remain here for you.

Statewide Testing Capacity Increases with New Laboratory Contract

Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the opening of a new laboratory in California that will increase the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity, reduce test turnaround time and create hundreds of new jobs. The $25 million lab, built in conjunction with major diagnostics company PerkinElmer, will begin processing tests starting in November and work toward full capacity of 150,000 tests by March 2021.

The additional testing capacity will allow California to better serve schools, health care providers and hard-to-reach communities like essential workers, those in congregate settings and communities of color, who are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. The additional capacity comes just as flu season arrives and the need for testing is expected to spike statewide because the symptoms of COVID-19 and flu are similar.

Under its contract, PerkinElmer is contractually required to turn around test results in 24-48 hours. That timeline is critical to boxing in the spread of COVID-19 because it allows for timely contact tracing, quarantine and isolation.

Continue reading the News Release for more information about the partnership with PerkinElmer.  

REMINDER: Make Smart Decisions for Halloween & Día de los Muertos

🎃 Hallo-weekend is here!  As you finalize your plans for Halloween and Día de los Muertos, consider COVID-19’s continued presence in our community. We’ve made it to Tier 3 “Orange” status on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, but now is not the time to toss that progress out the window.

The Public Health team has put together some helpful guidance on which activities should be modified or avoided altogether - along with some ideas for fun alternatives to help keep our spirits up. For more details, review our press release and guidance documents (English) (Spanish).

And remember, local and state Health Officer Orders are still in effect. Halloween gatherings, Día de los Muertos celebrations, events or parties with non-household members are not permitted unless they are conducted in compliance with local and State Health Orders.

In addition, all 11 cities and towns in Marin, as well as Marin County itself, have adopted a “social host” ordinance to deter drinking, drug use and keep you safe. The Social Host Ordinance (SHO) is to support parents and guardians in taking responsibility for what is happening in their home, and to support neighbors in looking out for one another. SHO empowers parents, neighbors, and other concerned citizens to seek help from law enforcement when there are youth suspected of underage drinking, drug use or other potentially danger or illegal situations involving minors. Visit the Marin Prevention Network’s website for more information about local social host ordinances in your community.

COVID-19 Data Update:

Below is a summary of today’s data now available on Marin Data & Surveillance webpage. View the page for a broader range of data, plus interactive graphs for confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Data analysis is available by age range, gender, race and city/town/geographic region. Questions about the data? See our Data FAQ or contact us.

⚠️ Alignment of Marin’s Testing Data with the CDPH ⚠️

In today’s status update, you will notice a significant increase in total tests conducted in Marin County. An increase of 50,514 tests, to be exact. This is due to Marin Health and Human Services transitioning from using locally calculated test volume to California Department of Public Health-calculated test volume.

During the first few months of the pandemic, local health departments were on their own to develop data collection and analysis systems, due to an absence of clear federal or state plans. In Marin County, our approach included building data systems to describe the epidemic locally (through the utilization of local epidemiologists and local dashboards) and the development of local guidelines and policies to protect our community (which led to the MarinRecovers effort).

Since that time, the State of California has built stronger supports for local health departments, including data systems, guidance and policies.  The State is now performing its own analysis of County-level data to determine our pace of reopening, through its tiers in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. This data is available on the State’s public dashboards.

Marin County will be following the state in shelter-in-place policies through the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, sector-specific guidelines for safe reopening, and will now display the data the state uses to determine Marin County’s tier status.

So why is there such a large disparity between Marin and CDPH’s test counts? The main reason is Marin’s previous count resembled “people tested” where the new number is more accurately defined as “tests completed.”  Tests completed recognizes that health care and essential workers (among others) have been tested more than once as part of recommended routine testing.

To see how the count of tests per day has changed over time, please view the Daily COVID-19 Tests Conducted Among Marin County Residents chart.

COVID-19 activity in Marin:

* The Marin County COVID-19 Status Update is published weekdays. Monday editions of the status update include data from Monday plus Saturday and Sunday of the previous weekend. Therefore, data shown under the “change from last update” heading will always be larger on Mondays and differ from what is published on the Coronavirus in Marin homepage, which is updated seven days a week.

 ** The 50,514 increase in total tests on October 30, 2020 is due to Marin HHS transitioning from using locally calculated test volume to CDPH-calculated test volume. To see how the count of tests per day has changed over time, please view the Daily COVID-19 Tests Conducted Among Marin County Residents chart.

Residential Care & Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 activity:

State COVID-19 activity:

Stay Informed

Follow the County of Marin on Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor or subscribe to our status updates. Visit MarinHHS.org/coronavirus for resources to stay connected on the issue.

Helpful Links and Online Resources:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• COVID-19 Test Information
• Face Covering & Mask Information
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Donation Options
• Business Reopening Guidelines
• Archive of past status updates

Contact Us. We Are Here for You.

Have questions?  We are here to help. Our call center is available weekdays from 9:30 AM to noon and 1:00 - 5:00 PM. Feel free to connect with us for general information and resources by calling (415) 473-7191. We are also available online! As a reminder, please only call 9-1-1 if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency.

Spread the word: How your friends and family can receive these updates:

• Text "MARIN COVID" to 468311 to receive text message notifications      
• Subscribe online to receive email notifications
• Tweet & share this update with your friends on Twitter!