COVID-19 cases continue to rise, hospitalizations steady in Stanislaus County

The rate of COVID-19 transmission in Stanislaus County remains high as health officials urge continued precautions against the virus.

In an update posted on its Facebook page Tuesday, Stanislaus County Health Services Agency said the county has 86 patients hospitalized with coronavirus, with 15 of them in the intensive care unit. Test positivity stood at 17.08 percent. Last week, hospitalizations stood at 88 with six in the ICU. The test positivity rate late week was 14.28 percent.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Stanislaus County is currently assigned to the “high” transmission level based on a seven-day rate of 277 cases per 100,000 population, up from 235 last week. The rate of COVID hospital admissions is 10.8 per 100,000, and 8.2% of staffed hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, up from 6.3% last week.

In high-risk counties, the CDC recommends that people wear masks in public and on public transportation. Those with symptoms are advised to get tested. Infected people who are medically vulnerable to severe illness may consider antiviral medications taken within days of coming down with symptoms.

The OptumServe test sites in Salida and Turlock are test-to-treat locations, where eligible people can be tested for COVID and possibly receive antiviral medication from a health provider.

More information about COVID-19 is available at www.schsa.org.

This story was originally published July 6, 2022 at 9:08 AM with the headline "COVID-19 cases continue to rise, hospitalizations steady in Stanislaus County."