Update: Stanislaus County reports second death from coronavirus, a day after first
Stanislaus County on Saturday reported its second death from the coronavirus, a day after announcing its first resident had died.
Both victims — a male and female — had “underlying” medical conditions. The ages, hometowns and where the two victims died were not released due to medical privacy rules.
“This new coronavirus is still spreading in our county, causing serious illness and death. We wish to share our heartfelt condolence to the (families) and friends who have lost a loved one,” says Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, Stanislaus County Public Health Officer. “We all need to continue to evaluate our own actions to ensure they are limited to essential services only so that we can slow down the spread of the disease.”
The announcement of the first death came 30 days after the county reported its first confirmed case. Now, it has 116 confirmed cases as of Saturday. Meanwhile, San Joaquin County has 14 deaths so far, Merced County three.
Vaishampayan again urged residents to follow the state-at-home order from the state. This means keeping at least 6 feet from other people when out shopping, exercising or working in jobs exempt from the order.
“While Public Health is doing everything possible to mitigate the impact of this disease in our community, we can only flatten the curve if EVERYONE takes social distancing seriously,” Vaishampayan said.
The two people died as officials were working to determine when COVID-19 would peak in Stanislaus County. They do not want to lift the closure of schools, businesses and other gathering places too soon.
County health officials have urged the public to participate in online church services over Easter weekend and find other alternatives to family gatherings.
Vaishampayan said in a Facebook Live forum Wednesday that church activities like singing in a choir are known to spread contagious viruses like coronavirus.
Many place of worship have switched to online services and other remote means.
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 4:35 PM.
