3 more COVID-19 deaths reported as North Bay skilled nursing homes contend with virus spread

COVID-19 deaths are on the rise in January, after two months of relatively low pandemic-related fatalities in Sonoma County.

Local health officials reported three deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 429 since the pandemic began nearly two years ago. All three county residents were over 70 and had underlying health conditions.

They included an unvaccinated woman who died Jan. 3; a vaccinated man who died Jan. 9; and an unvaccinated man who died Jan. 10.

January has thus far seen 8 coronavirus-related deaths. Because of delays in confirming COVID-19 fatalities, it is not unusual for death reports to lag several weeks.

The eight deaths so far represent an increase over previous months, but still it is nowhere near the number of fatalities during the summer delta surge. There were five deaths each in November and December, which was a significant decline from the 38 deaths reported in August and the 25 in September.

During a COVID-19 briefing Wednesday, Dr. Sundari Mase, the county’s health officer, reported that the virus is once again spreading through some of the county’s senior care homes, which house the most vulnerable populations.

She said that since Jan. 1, there have been at least 348 cases across 36 senior residential care facilities. That figure surpasses the level of transmission in these homes of all previous surges, she said.

Officials said there have been at least two COVID-19 deaths confirmed among skilled nursing facility residents since the beginning of the year, and more are expected to be confirmed soon.

County wide, residents 65 and older are experiencing higher rates of hospitalization than any other age group. Since December there have been 10 deaths among residents 65 and older.

Mase said that while the local vaccination and booster campaign has been effective in protecting older residents, the highly transmissible omicron variant has been very aggressive in penetrating vulnerable populations, even if vaccinated and boosted.

“This is a real concern for us,” she said. “We’ve had outbreaks in at least half the skilled nursing facilities, among the staff,” she said. There are about 20 skilled nursing homes in the county.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.