REDDING, Calif. - With the holiday season wrapping up, Shasta County health leaders are keeping an eye on any possible surges.

Community members in Shasta County are bracing for more Covid-19 cases.

“I'm sure there will be a rise in cases,” said Dene Kipp of Redding. “I’m very careful and I don't go out much among people.”

“If you follow the statistics and you read the paper, we will have more,” said Pat Bunelle of Redding. “It's inevitable.”

For a couple of weeks, Shasta County was on the downward decline. But those numbers have gone back up.

“Both our test rate and test positivity had been decreasing for a couple of weeks in a row, we were headed in the right direction,” said Robin Schurig, the Public Health Branch Director.

“But with the latest date that came out yesterday, both of those metrics increased.”

Shasta County is still in the purple tier under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The Northern California region's ICU capacity is still above 15%.

Shasta health leaders say testing plays a role in shifting Shasta County out of the purple tier.

“Testing is a key part of our containment strategy, especially as we try to drive our numbers down,” said Dr. Karen Ramstrom, Shasta County’s public health officer.

As the weeks go on, Shasta health leaders say they will be watching and waiting for that possible post-holiday surge.