The California State Governor, Gavin Newsom, has issued a STAY AT HOME order, for all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence, except as needed to maintain continuity of operation of the federal critical infrastructure sectors, critical government services, schools, childcare, and construction, including housing construction. This order is effective immediately and was put into place in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID 19 virus, which in turn will decrease the impact on critical health care services and facilities.
View identified essential services & Workers.
The order includes canceling all non-essential activities and services and all social, professional or community based gatherings. If you must leave your home to seek essential services, keep at least 6 feet of distance from others.
The order does not impact essential services such as: gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants, banks, laundromats, or laundry services. Essential state and local government functions will also remain open, including law enforcement, and offices that provide government programs and services.
Guidance Documents for COVID-19
All community sectors are asked to review and implement COVID-19 illness prevention guidance.
COVID-19 in Butte County
Updated April 7, 2020
This page will be updated regularly by 4 pm, Mondays through Fridays.
| *Total COVID-19 Cases
|
13
|
| Total COVID-19 Deaths
|
0
|
*Butte County COVID-19 case reporting will align with how the California Department of Public Health is reporting cases. Now that community spread has increased throughout the United States and is now the primary reason for new cases, including California, breaking down the case count into separate categories is no longer recommended. The number of reported cases are only the confirmed cases that are reported to Public Health from labs and healthcare providers. Access to testing is limited. Because of this, we believe there are many more people infected with COVID-19 in Butte County than we know of.
Location of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
The city of residence for people sick with COVID-19 will not be provided in order to protect their identity. Public Health is legally responsible for protecting personal health information. This includes any information that might identify them, including demographics. Providing location information does not provide any benefit to the public in helping to prevent illness. No additional public precautions are needed to prevent the spread of illness other than continuing to follow the stay at home order, stop all non-essential activities, and practice good hygiene and routine cleaning. Now that we have confirmed cases in Butte County, the public should consider every public place as a place that one could be exposed.
COVID-19 Information Lines
- Butte County COVID-19 Call Center: 8 am to 5 pm, everyday: 530.552.3050
- Butte County residents can dial 2-1-1 (24/7) or text their zip code to 898211 for information and updates. The text line is available M-F from 7:30 am to 6 pm.
Dr.Andy Miller will provide video updates about COVID-19 in Butte County on the Public Health Facebook page (@buttecountypublichealth). New videos will be posted throughout the week.
Public Health is working hard to protect public health.
On Friday, March 6th, Butte County Public Health declared a Local Public Health Emergency in Butte County. These actions have been executed in an effort to be proactive; allowing the County to expedite the planning and response to potential COVID-19 cases, and make additional resources available to the County to limit and slow community spread of the disease.
We are working closely with local schools, businesses and healthcare partners, the California Department of Public Health and the CDC. We have activated our Department Operations Center (DOC) to efficiently plan, prepare and respond. This includes activation our communicable disease monitoring and investigation protocol. We have met with local hospitals to provide the latest guidance for infection prevention and control and methods to assess and reduce the risk of exposure to both healthcare personnel and other people in the hospital.
How can you protect yourself and your family?
In addition to following the STAY AT HOME order, the best way to prevent the spread of respiratory illness, is to practice good hygiene:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water.
- Cover your cough and sneezes with a tissue or corner of your sleeve. Do not use your hands.
- Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands, especially your mouth, nose and eyes.
- Avoid close contact with sick people.
- Stay home if you are sick, especially from work, school and public places.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Adults over the age of 65 and people with underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for serious complications from COVID-19. On Sunday, March 15th, California State Governor Gavin Newsom issued a directive calling for home isolation of:
- All Adults over 65 years old
- All persons with chronic health conditions, such as: heart disease, diabetes and lung disease.
If you are at increased risk, get ready for COVID-19 now. Learn how to reduce your risk of getting sick.
To protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, all non-essential activities and services and all social, professional or community based gatherings should be canceled. This includes the following:
- Gatherings such as concerts, conferences, and
professional, college, and school sporting events.
- Gyms, health clubs, and theaters should be closed.
- A “gathering” is any event or convening that brings together people in a single room
or single space at the same time, such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large
conference room, meeting hall, cafeteria, or any other indoor or outdoor space - professional, social or community based.
Prepare for Local Cases and Community Spread.
Butte County residents should prepare for local cases and community spread of COVID-19. The community can take measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Everyone has a role to play in getting ready and staying healthy.
What to do if you are sick
Mild Symptoms:
People with mild symptoms, who are not sick enough to be hospitalized, should self-isolate at home. These people should:
- Avoid close contact with others
- Stay home for at least seven days from the start
of symptoms, AND
- Stay home at least 72 hours after fever is gone,
AND
- Stay home until respiratory symptoms have improved
(couging/sneezing)
Severe Symptoms:
People with severe symptoms of respiratory illness should call their healthcare provider immediately. Call ahead so that you can be safely evaluated to prevent exposing others. Your healthcare provider will evaluate you and determine the best course of action for your illness, including whether or not you should be tested.
Who should be tested for COVID-19?
Testing must be done by a healthcare provider. Butte County Public Health cannot perform COVID-19 testing.
Persons without symptoms of COVID-19 (fever and cough) do not need to be tested. People with mild symptoms, who are not sick enough to be hospitalized, do not need to be tested and should self-isolate at home. As we would recommend for anyone with a respiratory illness, if you are ill, you should avoid close contact with others and remain at home for at least 72 hrs after your fever is gone.
People who should be tested for COVID-19 are those with symptoms who have traveled to an affected area with COVID-19 or had close contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19, or those who have severe symptoms with no known exposure. Call ahead: If fall under this category and believe you could have COVID-19, notify your healthcare provider by phone. Call ahead so that you can be safely evaluated to prevent exposing others.
Healthcare providers will determine if a person should be tested based upon their illness and other risk factors. If a healthcare provider determines that a person should be tested, the healthcare provider will collect a specimen and have it delivered to a COVID-19 testing lab. At this time, all labs capable of testing for COVID-19 are outside of Butte County. Labs in Butte County are not equipped to perform the COVID-19 test. If you are ill and believe you could have COVID-19, you should notify your healthcare provider by phone before seeking care so you can be safely evaluated.
For more information about COVID-19 Testing, visit the CDC Tests for COVID-19 website.
COVID-19 Testing and Test Kits
People in Butte County are being tested. If a healthcare provider makes a clinical determination that a person should be tested, they will collect a specimen from the person. This specimen is sent to a COVID-19 approved lab to test the specimen, which is outside of Butte County. These labs use what is called a COVID-19 test kit.
Butte County Public Health has been working diligently with local healthcare providers and hospitals to help coordinate testing for suspect cases. Like many other medical tests, the specimens are collected by a local healthcare provider and then sent to an out of county lab to conduct the test.
Test kits are used specifically by labs (not healthcare providers) to conduct the actual COVID-19 test. Test kits are not needed by healthcare providers in order to collect specimens. At this time, there are 19 labs in the state of California capable of using the test kits. All of these labs are outside of Butte County.
Butte County Public Health has received generous funding from the North Valley Community Foundation. This money will be used to purchase COVID-19 testing equipment to be used in the Public Health Lab in Chico. This will allow for expedited, local testing. It will take about one month to get this testing up and running. Please stay tuned for details.
This is a rapidly changing situation and guidance about travel changes frequently. Please visit the CDC travel information page for the latest travel alerts, restrictions, and guidance.
Public Health in Butte County
Promoting healthy behaviors and resources, preventing illness and protecting the health of residents and visitors in Butte County is our daily commitment. The Butte County Public Health Department (BCPHD) runs over 50 programs serving: children, mothers, families, adults, small businesses, animals and the environment.
As a nationally accredited health department, we are involved in a variety of community-based activities that engage residents in the planning, evaluation and implementation of health improvements in their communities. Our website is designed to be your local resource for health information. Throughout this site, you can learn more about the many excellent programs and services that are offered through the department.
Danette York
Director, Butte County Public Health
Learn about important opioid misuse and abuse resources in Butte County.
Walgreens on Nord Avenue in Chico now offers a 24/7 medicine collection bin. Prescription and over-the-counter medicines are welcome.
The CHA highlights the top health needs of people living in Butte County and will be used to develop and guide a three-year Community Health Improvement Plan, slated to start in early 2020.
View the CHA full report
View the CHA Executive Summary
The health department operates two public health clinics that offer immunizations, travel shots, family planning, STD testing and treatment, health exams, and free condoms. Low-Cost or free services are available. Lab services provide water, insect and tick testing to the public.
The health department works to prevent and control diseases. Health promotion and disease prevention services are designed to protect the health of the public and individuals. The health department collects disease data to help monitor the health of the community.
The Animal Control division serves the unincorporated areas of Butte County. Their role is to protect, promote and enhance the health, safety and quality of life for the county's animals and citizens. Services include: dog licensing, rabies information, lost/found pet resources, pets at large, animal bite prevention education and rescue efforts during emergencies.
The Vital Records office is your source for certified birth, death and burial permit certificates. Additional services include the issuance of medical marijuana identification cards.
The Nursing Divisions offers a wide variety of services to promote healthy behaviors for: maternal and child health, injury prevention, child passenger safety, children in foster care, adult services and more.
Environmental conditions can affect individual and community health. The regulation and monitoring of retail food facilities, drinking water, public swimming pools, wastewater, land development and hazmat disposal is the responsibility of the Environmental Health Division. Citizen participation and advisory groups create community collaborations throughout the county.
Are you ready if a natural or man-made disaster strikes? Personal, family and animal preparedness can save your life and reduce confusion during an unexpected emergency. The Emergency Preparedness office collaborates with local hospitals, health care providers, fire departments, law enforcement and other county departments to protect the public's health during times of emergency or disaster.
The Butte County Public Health Department is committed to providing you with the facts you need to make safe and informed choices. By sharing science-based information, BCPHD is working to increase awareness about cannabis and how it affects our bodies, minds and health.