Coronavirus

Coronavirus update, June 7: Two more deaths in Stanislaus County; positivity rate holds

Here is the latest on the coronavirus outbreak from in and around Modesto and Stanislaus County.

2 deaths, an uptick in cases reported in Stanislaus County

Cases of death due to the coronavirus grew by two on Saturday in Stanislaus County, according to the health services agency.

Positive tests also climbed by 25, making it the third largest one-day spike since the first case was reported in the county on March 11.

The rate of positivity remained at 5.5%, where it’s largely hovered over the last few days.

Still, the increase brings to 98 the number of positive test cases reported by the county over the last four days, bringing the total to 865. The release of test results have been on the rise over the past six days, averaging 375. compared to about 245 the previous six days.

A large spike is being seen in neighboring San Joaquin County, where positive cases grew by 260 since May 31. Its additional 60 cases on Saturday was the highest single-day total since it reported its first case on March 9.

All deaths in Stanislaus County have been to those ages 50 and over (97 percent in San Joaquin County) and of the positive cases.

There has also been an uptick in the percentage of positive cases in the Latino community, which now stands at 65 percent of all cases, up 5 percentage points from a few days ago. Latinos make up 47 of the population Stanislaus County.

County officials did not list any details regarding the two reported deaths on Saturday, including their age, gender of if they had any underlying health conditions.

Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area

The number of people hospitalized at some point is at 145, no change since Friday, and 670 are presumed to be recovered.

Among the five county hospitals, 45% of total beds are available, 43% of intensive care unit beds are available, and 80% of ventilators are available. Those numbers have held steady the past few weeks.

Of those who tested positive, 55% are female and 45% male. Eleven percent are 20 or younger, 16% are 21 to 30, 17% are 31 to 40, 17% are 41 to 50, 14% are 51 to 60, 9% are 61 to 70, 6% are 71 to 80, 6% are 81 to 90, and 2% are older than 90.

Modesto has 261 positive cases, 215 are in Turlock, 100 are in Ceres, 54 are in Patterson, 30 are in Riverbank, 17 are in Oakdale, 14 are in Newman, 14 are in Waterford, and eight are in Hughson. Of the cases in unincorporated areas, 65 are in supervisorial District 5, 42 in District 3, 30 in District 2, 11 in District 1 and fewer than five in District 4.

As of Sunday morning, there were 128,593 confirmed cases in California and 4,606 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 1,920,061 U.S. cases and 109,802 deaths.

Here is the state tracker.

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Stanislaus County could spread $15 million in CARES Act money among its nine cities to help with costs of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. The proposed allocations are based on population. Read Ken Carlson’s story.

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A Stanislaus County conservative business owner wrestles with his conscience for requesting government coronavirus stimulus money. Meanwhile, his employees won’t return to work because they make more in handouts.. Read community columnist’s Steve Taylor’s story.

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Stanislaus has manageable caseload

Stanislaus County officials have not seen conclusive evidence of a large surge in coronavirus infections since the county reopened for business last month. Read Ken Carlson’s story.

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The pandemic isn’t over but it’s summer and you want to get outside. Here are some tips for activities that are safe, at least safer, to do. Read ChrisAnna Mink’s story.

Showers for homeless resume

After suspending service in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Modesto Church in the Park’s Cleansing Hope Shower Shuttle reopened Tuesday, with the Laundry Shuttle to follow suit on Thursday. Read Deke Farrow’s story.

Around California, United States and world

With a week left to reach a budget deal, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders in the Legislature stand on opposite sides of a $3.6 billion proposal to trim public employees’ wages. Read the SacBee story.

A Bakersfield company, Ashli Healthcare, signed a $139 million contract with the state to purchase 8,000 ventilators in case the state needed them for a COVID-19 surge at hospitals. Read the story at ModBee.

This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 6:15 AM.

Follow More of Our Reporting on Coronavirus in California

Brian Clark
The Modesto Bee
Editor Brian Clark has worked at The Modesto Bee since 1990. He’s worked in various departments, including sports, news and on the digital side for a decade before being promoted to editor in 2018. He’s a native of Berkeley and a graduate of San Diego State University. Prior to The Bee, Brian worked at the Turlock Journal and Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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