Coronavirus update April 12: Inmates to be released, more reports of people recovering
Here is the latest on the coronavirus pandemic as it relates to Stanislaus County:
Latest facts on COVID-19 tests in Modesto area
Stanislaus County reported its second death Saturday afternoon. It now has 121 people who tested positive for the virus and 2,373 who tested negative. Thirty-six of the positive cases were hospitalized, and 77 people have recovered.
Of those who tested positive, 63 are male and 58 female. Four are 17 or younger, 63 are between 18 and 49, 33 are between 50 and 64, and 21 are 65 or older.
Modesto has 56 of the positive cases, 21 are in unincorporated areas, 11 are in Ceres, 10 are in Patterson, six are in Turlock, five are in Waterford, and five are in Riverbank. The other cases were not reported by city because of medical privacy rules regarding smaller cities.
- San Joaquin County has 15 COVID-19-related deaths among 260 cases.
- Merced County is at 64 cases, with three deaths. Of those who tested positive, 36 are female and 28 male. Two are 17 or younger, 42 are between 18 and 49, 13 are between 50 and 64, and seven are 65 or older. Thirty-two are on the west side of the county, 32 on the east side.
- Tuolumne County has two cases and no deaths.
- Mariposa County has no cases, with a total of 75 people tested. Of those tests, 70 have returned negative; five are pending.
As of Sunday morning, there were 22,409 confirmed cases in California and 633 deaths, according to the Los Angeles Times. There were 530,026 U.S. cases and 20,614 deaths, according to the New York Times.
Here is the state tracker.
Stanislaus County inmates to be released
On Monday between 150 and 350 inmates, or as much as a quarter of the jail population in Stanislaus County, will be released from custody as a result of a statewide emergency bail schedule intended to slow or prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the incarcerated population.
The Judicial Council of California on April 6 established the temporary bail schedule that reduced to $0 the bail for most misdemeanor and some low-level felony offenses. It applies to accused inmates whose cases have not been adjudicated and anyone arrested on the applicable crimes while the emergency rule is in place.
Modesto to install portable bathrooms for homeless
Modesto expects soon to install portable bathrooms for homeless people after closing its park bathrooms about two weeks ago because of the new coronavirus pandemic.
Many of the other options for homeless people have closed, including the library and fast-food restaurants (which are operating only their drive-throughs). Oakdale also has installed portable bathrooms.
And the Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services is considering putting hand-washing stations in to some areas, but they have been hard to come by, a spokesman said.
Livingston-based Foster Farms makes big donation
Foster Farms will donate about 2 million servings of poultry to food banks stressed by the coronavirus.
The Livingston-based company announced April 9 that it would provide the chicken and turkey in California and four other states.
The donation will involve items such as whole chickens prepared for rotisseries, turkey tenderloins, seasoned chicken breasts and lunch meat. The recipients will include food banks serving Fresno, Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties.
Stimulus checks from the US government begin
Direct deposits for coronavirus stimulus checks are starting to show up in bank accounts, according to several reports.
“We can confirm that payments are beginning to arrive in some Americans’ accounts,” a Treasury Department official told ABC News on Saturday.
As food bank demand soars, armers let crops rot
As demand at food banks has been rising, some farmers find themselves letting their crops rot.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the entire world into disarray, but the food industry in particular. With restaurants closing or reshaping business models around slimmed-down take-out menus, the dominoes are starting to fall on farmers who suddenly have nowhere to take their food.
And as more people find themselves out of work, food banks are teeming with hungry families. But getting food from fields to the hungry families that need it isn’t as simple as it sounds, industry experts say.
For many farmers, it’s more cost-effective to let crops rot in the fields. They can’t afford to harvest it if there is no market for it, and food banks can’t cover the full cost of labor.
British prime minister released from hospital
In international news, British Prime Minister Boris Johnston was released from the hospital on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
Johnson was discharged from a London hospital where he was treated in intensive care for the coronavirus ahead of government figures Sunday in which the U.K. is expected to surpass 10,000 virus-related deaths.
Johnson’s office said he left St. Thomas’ Hospital and will continue his recovery at Chequers, the prime minister’s country house.
“I can’t thank them enough,” Johnson said in his first public statement since he was moved out of intensive care Thursday night. “I owe them my life.”
This story was originally published April 12, 2020 at 7:07 AM with the headline "Coronavirus update April 12: Inmates to be released, more reports of people recovering."
