Coronavirus update, Aug. 16: Stanislaus County numbers continue in wrong direction
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
The coronavirus numbers for Stanislaus County continued heading in the wrong direction after new data was released Saturday afternoon.
Five more deaths brought the county total to 198 and the 426 positive cases continued an upward trend in both positivity rate and the metric the state uses as a guideline for schools to submit waivers for on-campus learning.
The single-day positivity rate on Saturday of 39.33%, based on 1,083 test results, drove the 14-day rate to 24.35%, up from 20.12% the day before, according to county data.
The state wants to see the 14-day case rate fewer than 200 per 100,00 residents before schools can be considered for a waiver. Stanislaus, when figuring 3,318 cases the last 14 days and the county population of 558,911, is at 594.
The last 14-day stretch the county would have fallen beneath 200 is June 22-July 5.
There was no information on the new deaths, which brought to 37 the number of announced deaths since Monday.
The county’s overall infection rate since March is 16.3%.
Of the 75,889 tests, 63,510 have been negative. Of the 12,379 positive cases, 10,874 of those infected have recovered.
In terms of intensive care unit adult beds, the county reported only two remained among the five hospitals in the county, according to data as of 5 p.m. Saturday. The total number of confirmed patients was at 202, up from 200 the day before.
Most of the county’s detailed dashboard tied to state data remained offline, meaning no updates on age ranges and hometowns for the positive cases.
In other nearby counties:
- San Joaquin County has 261 COVID-19-related deaths among 14,651 cases.
- Merced County has 89 deaths among 6,777 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 160 cases and two deaths.
- Mariposa County has 64 cases and two deaths
San Joaquin, Merced and Tuolumne counties did not update their information on Saturday.
As of Saturday evening, there were 615,958 confirmed cases in California and 11,187 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 5,357,396 U.S. cases and 169,432 deaths.
Here is the state tracker.
Putting a human face on Stanislaus COVID tragedy
Charlie Brown of Ceres led a long and full life that was ended by COVID-19 in a Turlock rest home. Lockdown rules prevented any of his 61 descendants from being with him when he died.
Stanislaus County health officer remains calm amid COVID-19
Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, public health officer for Stanislaus County, trained for years to deal with the science of a viral pandemic. But, she said wasn’t prepared for the “lack of civility” from some residents.
Modesto uses bolts, boards to stop basketball
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Eateries get help in downtown Modesto
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Modesto takes action against businesses over coronavirus
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Farmworkers fear retaliation for airing COVID-19 concerns
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From around the state, nation and world
The oldest continuously held Black rodeo in the U.S. rode on in eastern Oklahoma despite months of uncertainty because of the coronavirus pandemic, though this year some cowboys wore face masks along with boots.
When 61-year-old Gaby Elena O’Donnell died on July 26 from complications due to COVID-19, her son Robert Garcia, the mayor of Long Beach, honored her on Twitter. Two weeks later, on Aug. 9, his stepfather, 58-year-old Greg O’Donnell, who had been fighting for his life on a ventilator, also died because of COVID-19 complications.
With hundreds of deaths reported each day, students returning to class and football teams charging ahead with plans to play, Texas leaders who grappled with testing shortages for much of the pandemic are now facing the opposite problem: not enough takers.
This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
