Marin County COVID-19 Status Update for December 22, 2021 includes; Marin Voice: Next Steps as Omicron Variant Spreads; A Call to Providers to Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Vaccination, and Treatment Strategies; Holiday Schedule for COVID-19 Updates; and updated local COVID-19 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.
Omicron Surge has Begun in Marin
Less than one week after the first case of the Omicron variant was detected in Marin County, public health officials are witnessing the beginning of the anticipated surge of cases tied to the new variant. This spike in cases is prompting Marin County Public Health to encourage action by both the public and local clinicians.
112 new cases were reported in Marin County on Tuesday, December 21, the highest daily case count since January 13, 2021. The highest daily count during the summer surge driven by the Delta variant was 86.
In Northern Europe and the Eastern United States, the Omicron variant overtook the Delta variant as the dominant strain over a short period of one to two weeks. That shift is now occurring in Marin.
“We’re deep into the transition to Omicron” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County Public Health Officer. “Given the detection in Marin wastewater last week, increased number of confirmed cases regionally, yesterday’s spike in cases, and the emerging national data, we should assume new cases are most likely due to Omicron.”
The Omicron variant is significantly more contagious than previous strains. This makes infection more likely to happen through encounters in indoor public settings, including social gatherings and even retail or restaurant settings. Continue reading the full news release
Marin Voice: Next Steps As Omicron Variant Spreads
By Dr. Matt Willis (December 23, Marin Independent Journal)
We’re at an important junction in our pandemic response.
Just one week after detecting the first case of the new COVID-19 omicron variant in Marin County, we’re witnessing a surge in cases due to its spread in our community. This surge could be the largest since the start of the pandemic.
While this is alarming, it’s important to ground our understanding in the best available evidence, as we have in every chapter of our response.
Two critical features of omicron, neither of which is fully understood, will determine our pandemic experience over the coming weeks. These are the severity of illness caused by the variant and the level of protection offered by the COVID-19 vaccine. Continue reading at MarinIJ.com.
A Call to Providers to Act On COVID-19 Prevention, Vaccination and Treatment Strategies
Today, Marin Department of Health and Human Services issued a public health advisory to local healthcare providers in response to spread of the Omicron variant. With a spike in cases locally, healthcare providers should anticipate an increase in the volume of patients seeking advice or evaluation for COVID-19 infection.
In sum, Marin Public Health is calling on local healthcare providers to take action in the following areas
- Prevention: Provide education to unvaccinated and unboosted patients regarding the risks associated with travel and indoor gatherings in light of Omicron. In addition, encourage frequent testing and emphasize the need for COVID-19 positive patients to properly isolate and notify close contacts.
- Vaccination: All Marin primary and urgent care providers should enroll in California’s COVID-19 vaccination program (if they have not yet already) with the goal of offering clinic-based COVID-19 vaccines and boosters by early January. In addition, clinicians should identify unvaccinated and unboosted patients and offer a vaccine as soon as possible.
- Treatment: Stay abreast of the current COVID-19 treatment guidelines, including outpatient monoclonal antibody therapy and treatment.
A recent survey of Marin residents found that most residents get tested for COVID-19 for symptoms, and most seek isolation and quarantine guidance from their health care provider. This finding reinforces the essential role that healthcare providers play as a trusted resource to patients during the pandemic response.
Holiday Schedule for COVID-19 Updates
Some of our services will pause this week in observance of the Christmas holiday. Here’s an overview:
- Marin County COVID-19 Status Update: will pause on Friday in recognition of the holiday, but will be back in your inbox on Monday, December 27.
- Vaccine Data and Surveillance Data reports: no update on December 24, updates will resume on December 27. Snapshot data on homepage (Coronavirus.MarinHHS.org) will continue to update throughout weekend.
We wish you a happy and safe holiday. We are grateful to everyone doing their part to help keep our community safe.
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.
Looking for daily data trends? Our Marin Data & Surveillance webpage uses Tableau dashboards to visualize the impact of COVID-19 in Marin County. Under each dashboard are links to datasets available on Marin County's Open Data Portal.
|
COVID-19 Case Data |
Today’s Report |
Change from Yesterday |
|
Total Confirmed Cumulative Cases |
16,915 |
+107 |
|
“Active Cases” (Confirmed in Past 14 Days) |
601 |
+65 |
|
Total Cumulative Deaths |
198 |
+0 |
|
Current COVID-19 Hospitalizations |
7 |
+1 |
|
Current COVID-19 ICU Patient Census |
1 |
+0 |
|
COVID-19 Vaccination Data |
Today’s Report |
Change from Last Status Update |
|
Marin residents age 5+ vaccinated with at least one dose |
243,251 |
+ 325 |
|
Percent of Marin population age 5+ who have received at least one dose |
98%** |
+ 0.0% |
|
Percent of Marin population age 5+ who have completed vaccine series. |
91.8% |
+ 0.1% |
|
Percent of entire Marin population that is “fully immunized” (14+ days post final dose)* |
86% * |
+ 0.0% |
* Note that this percentage is out of all Marin residents including children younger than 5.
** As population estimates may not be precise, as of December 13, 2021, the proportion of residents age 5+ vaccinated with at least one dose will be displayed up to, but not higher than 98%.
|
State COVID-19 data: |
Today’s Report |
Change from Yesterday |
|
California Confirmed Cases |
4,954,130 |
+ 10,903 |
|
California Deaths |
75,281 |
+ 117 |
Other Local and State Data Dashboards:
- Marin Vaccination Data
- California COVID-19 Data and Tools
- California COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data
- Tracking Variants across California
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:
- Find a vaccine clinic near you
- Free COVID-19 testing
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Apply for Rental Assistance
- Financial Resources for Businesses
- Archive of past status updates
- Subscribe to County of Marin News
Contact Us. We Are Here for You.
Have questions? Contact the CA COVID-19 Hotline seven days a week by dialing (833) 422-4255 for COVID-19 information and resources, or email us.
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!