Marin Hospitalizations Stable As Omicron Surges

MARIN COUNTY, CA — An omicron-fueled surge has landed in Marin, leading to a steep rise in case numbers, but so far hospitalizations remain stable, according to data from the county’s coronavirus dashboard.

Marin’s positivity rate has exploded in the past month, with the county on Monday reporting 46.2 new cases per 100,000 residents on Dec. 24.

Marin has experienced a nearly fourfold increase in its positivity rate since Dec. 13, when it was 11.7, and a nearly sevenfold since it was 7.0 on Nov. 26.

The outbreak has disproportionately impacted Marin’s unvaccinated, a tiny slice of the population of a county with among the nation’s highest vaccination rates.

The positivity rate for Marin’s unvaccinated residents is 258.7, compared to just 37.5 among the county’s vaccinated residents as of Dec. 24.

Marin reported four COVID-19 hospitalizations on Dec. 24, with one patient in an ICU.

“On Christmas Day we had the highest number of cases ever,” Marin County Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday.

“We expect to see some signature of COVID in our hospitals. We will see an uptick, undoubtedly. But it’s so clearly been uncoupled from case rates.”

Federal health officials said last week that omicron, first detected in late November in South Africa, has already become the dominant variant in the U.S. accounting for 73 percent of new infections last week, The Associated Press reports.

The new variant is believed to be the cause of an outbreak in which at least 28 people contracted COVID-19 earlier this month at a Marin holiday party of around 60 vaccinated people, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

"This confirms what we expected," Willis said of the outbreak in a statement last week.

"Omicron is here, but we know what it takes. Getting a booster dose is the most important step. And stick with the steps that have protected us so far: get vaccinated, cover your face, ventilate rooms, and get tested often."

As of Tuesday, 88.7 percent of all Marin residents have completed their vaccine series and 95.9 percent of county residents have received at least one jab, according to the county's vaccination dashboard.

Among Marin's eligible population (ages 5 and over), 92.0 percent of eligible Marin residents have completed their vaccine series and 98.0 percent of county residents have gotten at least one shot.
Marin tops the state with the highest vaccination rate and the North Bay county ranks among the nation's top 10 in that department among all counties (regardless of population), The New York Times reports.

Marin was the nation's most vaccinated county among those with a population over 250,000, according to data compiled earlier this year by The San Francisco Chronicle.