Coronavirus update, Aug. 22: Stanislaus deaths reach 226, but only 36 new cases
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
Three more residents have died from COVID-19, the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency announced Friday. The total since the pandemic began is 226.
Details were not released on the latest deaths, which added to a July-August surge in the county. The total stood at 44 at the end of June.
Close to 80 percent of the deceased people are 65 years old or older, according to county data.
The county added only 36 new cases Friday, bringing the total positive tests to 13,120. Another 66,730 residents have tested negative, and 11,958 are presumed recovered.
The single-day infection rate Friday was just 5.0%, versus the 19.7% on Thursday and 45.02% two days earlier.
The seven-day positivity rate stood at 23.13% based on 1,167 positive results. The 14-day rate was 21.02%.
To apply for a waiver to reopen school campuses for kindergartners to sixth grade, the California Department of Public Health wants the 14-day case rate per 100,000 residents at or below 200 based on the “episode date,” or the “earliest date that the (patient) can be known to have had the infection. “ Stanislaus County stood Friday at 287.9, up from Thursday’s 276. That data is just one of many criteria weighed for a successful waiver.
The county’s overall infection rate since March is 16.4%.
There were 177 people with confirmed cases in the five Stanislaus County hospitals. This does not include an unannounced number of patients at Central Valley Specialty Hospital, which the county started using to take some of the weight off the other facilities in Modesto, Turlock and Oakdale.
There were eight available adult intensive care unit beds available in the five hospitals.
Of those who tested positive, 54% are female and 46% male. Seven percent are 14 or younger, 17% are 15 to 24, 21% are 25 to 34, 18% are 35 to 44, 15% are 45 to 54, 11% are 55 to 64, 6% are 65 to 74, 3% are 75 to 84, and 2% are 85 or older.
Though they make up 47 percent of the population, Latinos represented 61 percent of the positive cases.
Modesto has 4,744 positive cases, 1,663 are in Turlock, 1,612 are in Ceres, 625 are in Patterson, 622 are in Riverbank, 249 are in Oakdale, 247 are in Newman, 193 in Waterford, and 113 are in Hughson. Of the cases in unincorporated areas, 791 are in supervisorial District 5, 752 are in District 3, which includes Salida, 583 are in District 2, 257 are in District 1, and 82 are in District 4
In other nearby counties:
- San Joaquin County has 294 COVID-19-related deaths among 15,622 cases.
- Merced County has 99 deaths among 7,428 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 172 cases and two deaths.
- Mariposa County has 69 cases and two deaths
As of Saturday morning, there were 660,088 confirmed cases in California and 11,9891 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 5,624,721 U.S. cases and 175,416 deaths.
Here is the state tracker.
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Great caution needed when reopening schools
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From around the state, nation and world
A second Fresno County child has died from coronavirus, according to new information posted by Fresno County Department of Public Health.
With the coronavirus still running rampant in the U.S., health experts say it’s important to get the flu vaccine this season in order to prevent overwhelming hospitals.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Cassidy is quarantining for 14 days and adhering to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, according to a news release.
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 5:26 AM.
