health

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officers announced 81 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. Of those, 11 are in El Dorado Hills, 16 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 23 in Greater Placerville, 3 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 6 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 4 in North County, 0 in South County, 16 in Lake Tahoe region. Two of these cases are awaiting address confirmation, leaving the pending address confirmation count at 49.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) successfully purchased El Nido Motel using some of the awarded Project Homekey funding. The property will provide much-needed affordable housing and supportive services for the most vulnerable local seniors, people with disabilities, and others at high risk of cold exposure and COVID-19 illness. The first client move-ins began last week, including medically fragile seniors who were living unsheltered in our community for many years.

The Barton Foundation’s 2020 virtual gala received overwhelming support from donors, raising a record-breaking $110,000 to benefit the Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund. These donations are immediately being put to use, helping community members hit hardest by the pandemic: those facing food insecurity and other economic hardship, as well as healthcare workers on the frontline.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officers announced 465 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since Thursday. Of those, 118 are in El Dorado Hills, 97 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 87 in Greater Placerville, 29 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 20 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 27 in North County, 7 in South County, 76 in Lake Tahoe region. Four of these cases are awaiting address confirmation, leaving the pending address confirmation count at 49.

There will be two virtual presentations on suicide and depression for parents on Monday, December 22 hosted by the Suicide Prevention Network (SPN).

At 10:00 a.m., Lisa Utzig Schafer of SPN and Juanita Hernandez- Morin, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist from El Dorado County Mental Health for a Suicide & Depression Parent Presentation.

At 6:00 p.m., Utzig Schafer will be joined by Anna Lee, AMFT, with A Balanced Life for a presentation on Depression & Suicide-Teen Edition. Learn about warning signs, what to say, and community resources.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A new company has launched to meet the community needs of COVID-19 testing with workplace testing and overnight results. Test Well today announced the launch of its purpose-built lab in South Lake Tahoe that will not only lower the cost but provides increased accuracy of test results.

The Test Well team, composed of industry experts and local personnel, will prioritize the testing of frontline and essential workers at scale. Starting Monday, December 21, 2020, Lake Tahoe area employers will have access to quick and affordable testing for their employees.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The overnight snowstorm brought more than powder as the first shipment of the Pfitzer-BioNTech vaccine for the coronavirus arrived in South Lake Tahoe at Barton Hospital.

El Dorado County received a total of 975 doses with about five hundred doses shipped to South Lake Tahoe Thursday, Marshall Hospital in Placerville will receive theirs on Sunday. The local doses will be administered to Barton's healthcare workers and skilled nursing residents, beginning Friday, December 17.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officers announced 121 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. Of those, 14 are in El Dorado Hills, 2 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 39 in Greater Placerville, 15 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 15 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 9 in North County, 4 in South County, 43 in Lake Tahoe region. 61 of the previously reported cases awaiting address confirmation have been assigned, leaving the pending address confirmation count at 45.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officers announced 113 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. Of those, 14 are in El Dorado Hills, 29 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 4 in Greater Placerville, 3 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 1 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 3 in North County, 0 in South County, 31 in Lake Tahoe region. 28 of this group awaiting address confirmation and the pending address confirmation count is now 106.

The California Tahoe Conservancy Board has awarded a $380,454 grant to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California for the Máyala Wáta Restoration Project at Meeks Meadow, and area rich in cultural and ecological importance.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officers announced 331 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since Friday. Of those, 72 are in El Dorado Hills, 80 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 98 in Greater Placerville, 20 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 28 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 18 in North County, 3 in South County, 39 in Lake Tahoe region. 27 of the previous cases awaiting address confirmation have been completed, and the pending address confirmation count is now 78.

As we prepare to say goodbye (and maybe even good riddance) to 2020, the end of the year brings several holidays. Whether celebrating Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanza, and of course, New Year’s Eve, remember that indoor holiday gatherings with others not in your immediate household can put you, your community, and those you care about at risk. As challenging as it is, staying home for the holidays is your best way to protect yourself and loved ones, and help slow the spread of COVID-19 in a time when healthcare and essential workers critically need that support.

National Forest developed campgrounds in the Lake Tahoe Basin have already closed for the winter season and dispersed camping in Desolation Wilderness and Meiss Country are not affected by the following closure.

We are ready for some glad tidings this holiday season. While we look forward to the spirit of generosity and warmth the season brings, many are also hoping the New Year will deliver a meaningful reset. Propelling ourselves forward and out of crisis will require fortitude and drive. The pending vaccine is a bright spot on the horizon, but there are other positive indicators for better days to come.

The Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine may be in South Lake Tahoe by the end of next week, pending authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine gained approval by a panel of 22 experts on Thursday by a vote of 17-4 in favor of recommending the FDA give it the green light (one panelist abstained).

With El Dorado County and South Lake Tahoe falling under California's regional Stay-at-Home order starting Thursday at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, the Tahoe Chamber is holding a Virtual Town Hall meeting with local health officials to receive guidance on the recent stay-at-home order in El Dorado County and how the new restrictions will affect restaurants, retailers, and other local business operations.

Featured speakers will be El Dorado County Public Health Officer Dr. Nancy Williams and Barton Health President and CEO Dr. Clint Purvance.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officers announced 173 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. This includes the approximate 200 positive cases that needed to be assigned to a region. Of those, 37 are in El Dorado Hills, 22 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 34 in Greater Placerville, 5 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 3 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 5 in North County, 0 in South County, 51 in Lake Tahoe region. There are 16 of the new cases awaiting address confirmation, and the pending address confirmation count is now 90.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe and the rest of El Dorado County and Alpine County will go under a Stay-at-Home order effective Thursday, December 10 at 11:59 p.m. This order will last for at least three weeks and then the state will reevaluate. The order has gone into effect because the Sacramento Region, of which South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado and Alpine counties are part, now has staffed ICU bed availability under 15 percent.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado Public Health is working to reduce the backlog in positive results from the weekend and believes that the case count published today, 12/7/2020, is an undercount of at least 150 cases. The state database shows the weekend new case count could much higher. Each day we post the figures released by El Dorado County health officials,

State health insurance exchanges, like Covered California and Nevada Health Link, are now in open enrollment - the time when we can sign up for coverage for the year ahead. It’s always a good idea to make sure you and your family have health insurance, and with the current surge of COVID-19, you don’t want to be uncovered. Luckily, there are many options for families and individuals to enroll virtually, including free, bi-lingual enrollment services offered here in our community.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officials say another 87 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. Of those, 32 are in El Dorado Hills, 23 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 14 in Greater Placerville, 1 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 3 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 2 in North County, 3 in South County, 11 in Lake Tahoe region. There are two less awaiting address confirmation, awaiting address confirmation for 8.

One of those new cases, seven are under the age of 18, 46 are aged 18-49, 20 are aged 50-64, and 14 aged 65 or older.

Farwell 2020! We will always remember this year, but for most of us, we are also ready to kiss it goodbye with a swift kick to the curb. Our community, like all communities has been hard hit with lost income, closed businesses, stay at home orders, COVID and virtually learning at home. We have missed socializing, travelling, entertaining and being entertained, enjoying our extended family and cannot even see a friend’s smile behind their mask. We missed so much of 2020 and it has hurt, to be honest.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With a surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, California Governor Newsom today issued a new regional stay-at-home order as an "emergency brake" to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

This order goes into effect in regions with less than 15 percent ICU availability. At this time, the El Dorado County does not fall into that group but it could be a matter of days until it does. The county is part of the Greater Sacramento Region which is at 22 percent capacity as of Thursday.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County health officials say another 56 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday. Of those, 7 are in El Dorado Hills, 14 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue, 4 in Greater Placerville, 1 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado, 4 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz, 8 in North County, 1 in South County, 20 in Lake Tahoe region. There are three less awaiting address confirmation, awaiting address confirmation for 9.

One of those new cases, eight are under the age of 18, 27 are aged 18-49, eight are aged 50-64, and 13 aged 65 or older.