COVID-19 positivity testing rates increase

EL CENTRO — Imperial Valley’s positivity COVID-19 testing results rates have significantly increased in the last weeks.

An Imperial County Department of Public Health report shows the 7-day positivity test rate as of Wednesday was 22.27%.

That compares to the 10.61% positivity rate recorded on Aug. 1 and the 8.71% rate reported during the 90-day period peak of July 24.

Previously, Imperial County recorded lower peaks on July 10, June 16, and May 17, the report reads.

So far, no COVID-19 deaths have been reported.

At the same time, the agency has observed a larger number of testing made in the region. On May 22 the ICPHD reported 184 daily tests, which increased to 225 on June 10, 279 on June 25, 309 on July 9, 385 on July 18, and 371 on July 22. The Department has recorded less tests in the last couple of weeks, peaking at 184 on July 25.

An Aug. 1 COVID-19 Variants Circulating in Imperial County report reads the variant most commonly tested in the Valley during July and June was the BA.2.86, followed by the F456L Spike Mutation. From March to May, the agency only found the BA.2.86 in tests.

The F456L Spike Mutation positivity rate declined by half from June to July, the report reads.

According to CDC reports, BA.2.86 is an Omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The World Health Organization reported that BA.2.86 is notable for having more than thirty mutations on its spike protein relative to BA.2.

Media outlet and specialized medical article reports read the subvariant, which was first detected in a sample from 24 July 2023, is of concern due to it having made an evolutionary jump on par with the evolutionary jump that the original Omicron variant had made relative to Wuhan-Hu-1, the reference strain first sequenced in Wuhan in December 2019.

The ICPHD report warns that not all positive tests are sequenced for variants and case counts do not show the exact number of variants circulating in Imperial County. However, those positive tests are used to estimate current variant proportions.

In an email, ICPHD Public Information Officer Moises Cardenas wrote COVID-19 continues to circulate in Imperial County at slightly higher levels than in prior months.

“At the beginning of the school year and as we move into the fall and winter season, it is not uncommon to see an uptick in cases of respiratory illness,” Cardenas wrote. “The Imperial County Public Health Department continues to remind the public of simple steps that can be taken to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.”

The PIO issued a list of recommendations to the public to avoid or address becoming ill.

Those suggestions include staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines by contacting medical providers or visit Imperial County Public Health Department (icphd.org) to schedule an appointment, practice good hand and respiratory hygiene, improve indoor air quality by increasing ventilation, use precautions to prevent the spread, including staying home and away from others or masking if you have respiratory symptoms, and getting tested in case of illness, especially if those around are at risk for severe illness and would benefit from treatment.