SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — El Dorado County Public Health is reminding residents and visitors to El Dorado County to remain vigilant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. According to El Dorado County Public Health Officer, Dr. Nancy Williams, cases of COVID-19 in California and in El Dorado County have been at medium to high levels throughout this summer. Although levels are finally on the decline again, with students returning to school this month ongoing virus transmission is likely to continue.

“This is a concern because the variants seem to get more and more contagious,” said Williams. “Taking simple preventive measures is still the best way to reduce the chances of acquiring or spreading the virus.

“Prior to 2022, surges in cases of COVID-19 in California were addressed through state-issued orders,” Williams added. “However, since the State of California converted most of its COVID-19 orders to recommendations earlier this year, nearly all responsibility for protecting oneself and others from catching COVID, and from giving it to other people, is now carried by each of us as individuals.”

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Some statewide restrictions have remained for special settings, such as health care facilities.

Global recommendations for everyone to prevent the spread of COVID-19 continue to be:

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— Getting vaccinated and (once eligible) boosted,

— Getting tested (or do an at-home test) when symptoms develop,

— Continuing to wear good quality, properly fitted masks when you can’t sufficiently protect yourself in spaces shared with other people who may expose you to COVID-19, and

— Staying away from other people when ill (to keep them safe).

Beyond these recommendations, Williams says people will need to make decisions for themselves and family about how and when to take precautions. “Deciding what precautions to take can be complicated,” said Williams. “Personal considerations, such as one’s own tolerance for risk and susceptibility of household members to severe illness can factor into these decisions.”  

To assist individuals, El Dorado County Public Health is sharing common scenarios that people are likely to face and providing options for decision-making (from good to better to best). These decision-making scenarios include activities such as visiting vulnerable people, going to the gym, and gathering with people from out of one’s own community. Dr. Williams hopes this information will help people make decisions about which precautions make sense for them. 

One common scenario is shown below. Other scenarios can be found on El Dorado County Public Health’s Welldorado web page – https://www.welldorado.org/.

Common Scenario #1
How can I safely visit an elderly (or other vulnerable) person, or how can others safely visit me if I’m vulnerable?

Regardless of the scenario, Williams says individuals should consider these questions when making decisions: 

— Is anyone particularly vulnerable to severe COVID?

— Are people in the group vaccinated/boosted or recently recovered from COVID?

— Will we be gathering indoors or outdoors?

— Am I or others likely to wear masks when we’re together indoors?

— Would I or others complete antigen-tests and isolate from the group if the results are positive?  

— Will we experience higher-risk exposures such as close face-to-face communication while dining together unmasked in a restaurant? Or will the exposures be lower risk, such as sitting quietly while wearing a mask in a movie theater?

Source: El Dorado County Public Health