Latest COVID-19 facts

• Kern County has 116,120 confirmed cases to date [August 10].

• There have been 1,429 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

• There were 210 newly reported confirmed cases August 10 and no new deaths.

• 14 day case rate is 22.3 per 100,000 residents.

• As of August 9, 678,712 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Kern County residents. 326,342 or 43.5% of Kern’s eligible population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

•As of August 9, Kern County had 165 COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 35 were in the ICU.

On August 5, a State Public Health Officer Order was issued requiring workers in healthcare settings to have received their final dose of the COVID vaccination by September 30, 2021.  A second State Health Officer Order was issued requiring visitors at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities to be fully vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test by August 11, 2021.  California as a whole is experiencing significant increased transmission from COVID-19.  The State has determined that these requirements are necessary in order to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and other healthcare settings. 

On August 10, Public Health launched an expansion to our COVID-19 Dashboard to include information on cases and hospitalizations based on vaccination status.  Some highlights include:

• Out of the 326,342 fully vaccinated residents in Kern County, only 0.06 percent have tested positive and 0.003 percent have been hospitalized.

• Since January 21, 2021, the date people could be first considered fully vaccinated in Kern, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 99.19 percent of all COVID cases and 99.26 percent of all COVID hospitalizations.  

In the most recent three weeks there has been a 53.8 percent increase in first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines administered in Kern County. With the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant, it is imperative that all eligible residents get vaccinated to protect against severe illness and death due to COVID-19. Vaccination appointments for individuals aged 12+ can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov.

“Vaccination is the fastest, safest, most controlled setting in which we can develop immunity against COVID-19,” said Brynn Carrigan, Director of Public Health.  “Masking, physical distancing, washing hands, covering coughs, staying home when sick or exposed, and staying in overall good health by eating well and regularly exercising are all layers of protection that we encourage our community to use to limit the transmission of COVID-19.” 

Visit our website www.kernpublichealth.com to stay informed on COVID-19.