Staying informed about respiratory virus trends is vital for protecting your health and the well-being of our community.

The Santa Cruz County Respiratory Dashboard provides up-to-date information on COVID-19, Influenza (flu) and RSV, including data on wastewater concentrations, hospitalizations, and associated deaths. This interactive resource helps residents track local trends, spot early warning signs of outbreaks, and understand the seasonal patterns of respiratory viruses. Wastewater surveillance offers a powerful tool to detect rising virus levels before clinical cases surge, while hospitalization and mortality data help guide timely responses by health officials and medical providers

Updated weekly and based on sources like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH), this dashboard empowers you to make informed decisions and stay ahead of potential health risks throughout the respiratory virus season.

Wastewater Data

Wastewater surveillance is a helpful tool for tracking diseases in a community because it allows public health experts to detect viruses and bacteria that people release in their waste — sometimes even before they feel sick or go to the doctor. When people use the bathroom, small traces of viruses or bacteria (like COVID-19, Influenza (flu), or norovirus) are flushed into the sewage system. By collecting and testing samples of this wastewater, scientists can look for signs of pathogens in the community.

This method is especially useful because it can give early warning signs of disease transmission in a community. Sometimes, the amount of viruses in the wastewater goes up before hospitals or clinics start seeing more sick people. That means health officials can spot rising levels of illness early and take steps to respond — like increasing testing, sharing public warnings, or preparing hospitals — before a full outbreak happens. It’s a fast, cost-effective way to monitor the health of large groups of people all at once, without needing everyone to get tested individually.

To learn more about COVID-19 transmission and forecasting in Santa Cruz County, review our disease modeling page.

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS). Viral concentrations of COVID-19, Influenza (flu), and RSV in wastewater samples reflect data from the City of Santa Cruz, County, and Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Plants. The Scotts Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant is not included due to the small population coverage for this sewer shed.

 

Update Frequency: Wastewater samples are collected a few times a week from the City of Santa Cruz, County, and Watsonville Wastewater Treatment Plants and the wastewater concentration plots are updated weekly. Please note: Update frequency is dependent on data availability from data source. Most recent data are preliminary and subject to change.

 

The data points included on the wastewater plot correspond to a 10-day rolling average concentration of virus for each respective wastewater treatment plant. The concentrations are “normalized” by the concentration of a plant virus that is harmless to humans but is shed in stool. This plant virus is the pepper mild mottle virus, or PMMoV. Normalizing by PMMoV adjusts for changes in the amount of feces in the sample and the efficiency of the procedures from day to day.

Hospitalization Data

Tracking hospitalizations from COVID-19, Influenza (flu), and RSV gives us a clear picture of how serious these illnesses are in our community. When more people are hospitalized, it can be an early warning that a virus is spreading more widely or causing more severe illness.

This information helps doctors, hospitals, and public health officials act quickly — like preparing hospital resources or issuing public health guidance — to keep our community safe and informed.

Source: The respiratory hospitalization data comes from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). 

 

Hospitalizations reflected in this data source include Watsonville Community Hospital, Dominican, and Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center.

 

Update Frequency: Hospitalization data for COVID-19, Influenza (flu), and RSV is updated once a week. There is typically a one-week delay between when hospitalizations occur and when the data becomes available. Please note: Updates depend on when the source data is reported to us. The most recent numbers are considered preliminary and may change as more information becomes available.

About COVID-19 Death Data

COVID-19 deaths in Santa Cruz County have dropped significantly since the start of the pandemic. Still, tracking deaths remains an important part of understanding the impact of the virus in our community.

Because deaths often occur weeks after someone becomes seriously ill, they tend to lag behind increases in cases and hospitalizations. This means that even when case numbers begin to decline, deaths may continue to rise for a short time.

Monitoring this data helps the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency make informed decisions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of our community.

Source: California Department of Public Health Vital Records

 

COVID-19 associated deaths reflected in this data include decedents who lived in Santa Cruz County and either passed away in or outside the county.

         

Update Frequency: Data is updated weekly. Please note: Update frequency is dependent on data availability from data source. Most recent data are preliminary and subject to change.

Influenza and RSV Death Data

Monitoring deaths from Influenza (flu) and RSV helps us understand how serious these viruses are each season — especially for vulnerable groups like young children, older adults, and people with underlying health conditions.

As with COVID-19, deaths from flu and RSV often happen weeks after someone gets sick. This means the number of deaths may continue to rise even after the worst of the outbreak has passed.

By tracking these trends, the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency can better plan and respond to protect those most at risk.

Source: California Department of Public Health Vital Records

 

Influenza (flu) associated deaths and RSV associated deaths reflected in this data include decedents who lived in Santa Cruz County and either passed away in or outside the county.

 

Update Frequency: Data is updated weekly. Please note: Update frequency is dependent on data availability from data source. Most recent data are preliminary and subject to change.