Coronavirus update Aug. 24: Stanislaus County numbers continue to hold steady
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
As the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors prepare Tuesday to discuss the potential impacts of reopening schools, coronavirus numbers held steady and hospitalizations continued to decline in data released Sunday.
According to the county’s dashboard, hospitalizations of infected patients dropped to 150, down from the 205 six days ago. The number of available adult intensive care unit beds rose to 14 by Sunday at 5 p.m., up from 11 the day before.
The hospitalizations did not include 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.
The single-day positive rate was 14.31%, down from 16.89% a day before. The seven-day rate dropped to 16.69%, another decrease from the day before. However, the 14-day rate grew from 22.25% to 24.19%.
The overall rate since March remained at 16.4% for the third straight day.
The county did report one more death, although there was no information on age, gender or if there were any underlying conditions. There are now 229 county residents dead from COVID-19.
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 dropped to 261.6%, down from 272.6 on Friday.
The per capita rate based on reported date in the last 14 days is 621.
There are other factors that need to be met before reopening, and it includes being off the state watch list for 14 days. Stanislaus County is on that watch list.
Specific numbers tied to percentage of infected patients by age, ethnicity and city of residence did not appear to be updating on the dashboard.
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 Monday morning, there were 670,254 confirmed cases in California and 12,155 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 5,704,447 U.S. cases and 176,809 deaths.
Here is the state tracker.
Great caution needed when reopening schools
A creative interpretation of COVID data appears to position elementary schools throughout Stanislaus County, California, to apply for reopening. Whether we can trust the numbers is up for question.
Are Stanislaus County schools close to reopening?
Stanislaus County, California, is inviting school districts to apply for waivers so that elementary schools can reopen for classroom instruction even as the county remains on the state’s coronavirus watch list.
1 dead, outbreak in Calaveras County
One person died, and two children have been infected with COVID-19 in Calaveras County, California. The county also announced a coronavirus outbreak among residents at Avalon Health Care in San Andreas.
Modesto parents share questions, concerns with district
In a Modesto City Schools online forum Wednesday, families shared a range of questions. They wanted to know, among other things, how long it will take to reopen schools once state and county officials deem it safe.
An inside look at a Modesto intensive care unit
Hospitals in Modesto in the Central Valley of California are dealing with a relentless outbreak of the coronavirus, even as the spike of cases has flattened out. ICUs held 62 critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Merced teen gets surprise at Modesto hospital
William Cady, 19, of Merced tested positive for the coronavirus on June 26, after experiencing symptoms of the virus for a week prior to being tested. Doctors told Cady they believe COVID-19 impacted an existing but undetected heart condition, further damaging two of his four heart valves.
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