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Tahoe sees spike in COVID-19 cases as tourists return, health officials say

By KTVU Staff
Updated  July 9, 2020 10:51am PDT
Travel News
KTVU FOX 2

Pushing back on South Lake Tahoe visitors ban

Tourists are pushing back on a ban in South Lake Tahoe barring them from visiting the area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public health officials in the Tahoe region believe the return of tourism has led to a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

Infections in El Dorado County have more than doubled over the past three weeks to more than doubled to 280. Half of those are in South Lake Tahoe. 

If Tahoe was its own county it would have surpassed California's COVID-19 threshold for increased monitoring and added to the state's watchlist. 

"They have cabin fever and they may not even know they are carriers of COVID-19, said El Dorado County spokeswoman Carla Hass. "But they are leaving their virus with the residents of Tahoe." 

The county health officer is considering tightening restrictions even without an order from the state. 

Back in April, the county banned non-essential travel to the Tahoe area to limit the spread of the virus.