It was one year ago on November 16th that the winter COVID case surge was signalled in Nevada County. With the tier system still in place, we dropped two levels to the worst, or Purple Tier, shutting down all indoor dining for the holiday season. Our case rate went from 6 per-100-thousand population to 14. And there was still no vaccine. But a year later, and with vaccinations available for most of the year, we were at 23, as of Monday, thanks to the stronger Delta Variant strain. However, Public Health Officer, Doctor Scott Kellermann, says the vaccine has meant fewer serious illnesses, with nine hospitalizations reported…

click to listen to Doctor Kellermann

There are also hardly any restrictions this fall, although an indoor mask mandate is still in place here. Kellermann says that’s also a factor in the high case rate. But he says people aren’t staying sick as long…

click to listen to Doctor Kellermann

Meanwhile, Nevada County’s positivity rate is closer to a year ago. As of Monday, it was four-point-nine percent, compared to four-percent on the same day in 2020.