Coronavirus update, Aug. 25: Stanislaus deaths reach 232. Positive rate drops again
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
Three more residents have died from the virus, bringing the total to 232, the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency reported Monday.
The number of infected people stood at 13,483, up 103 from Sunday, the agency’s online update said. Another 69,232 residents have tested negative, and 12,464 are presumed recovered.
Hospitalizations of infected patients remained at 150 for the second straight day, according to the county’s dashboard. They were at 205 a week ago. Available intensive-care beds for adults dropped to 10 on Monday from 14 the day before.
The hospitalizations did not include patients at Central Valley Specialty Hospital. The county started using the downtown Modesto site to help relieve other facilities in Modesto, Turlock and Oakdale.
The single-day positive rate was just 8.44% on Monday, down from 14.31% on Sunday. The seven-day rate was 14.98%, compared with 16.69% on Sunday. The 14-day rate was 23.73%, down from 24.19%.
The overall infection rate since March was 16.3%, down from 16.4% on Sunday.
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 was at 244.5 on Monday, down from 261.6 on Sunday.
The per capita rate based on reported date in the last 14 days is 585.
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.
Of those who tested positive as of Monday, 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 4,874 positive cases, 1,721 are in Turlock, 1,654 are in Ceres, 651 are in Riverbank, 644 are in Patterson, 260 are in Newman, 256 are in Oakdale, 196 are in Waterford, and 118 are in Hughson. Of the cases in unincorporated areas, 813 are in supervisorial District 5, 766 are in District 3, which includes Salida, 599 are in District 2, 264 are in District 1, and 86 are in District 4.
In other nearby counties:
- San Joaquin County has 297 COVID-19-related deaths among 16,131 cases.
- Merced County has 106 deaths among 7,653 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 177 cases and two deaths.
- Mariposa County has 69 cases and two deaths.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 676,478 confirmed cases in California and 12,261 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 5,741.088 U.S. cases and 177,284 deaths.
Here is the state tracker.
Here’s what will be required of Stanislaus County schools
The county’s rate dropped from 272 per 100,000 population to 244.5 per 100,000, as of Monday. The California Department of Public Health says the waivers to reopen elementary schools can be considered when the infection rate is 200 per 100,000 or lower.
COVID-19 claims longtime teacher, brothers, Turlock school district reports
A beloved longtime teacher at a Turlock CA elementary school died Saturday, reportedly from COVID-19 complications. Relatives, friends, colleagues, former students and their families are mourning Lilly Barron.
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.
From around the state, nation and world
Health officials in the U.S. have issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma — the blood of recovered coronavirus patients — as a treatment for hospitalized individuals fighting COVID-19.
The Georgia Department of Public Health is warning against the ingestion of chemical cleaning agents after reports of people drinking diluted chlorine dioxide to to “treat” COVID-19.
A party promoter is facing almost $1,500 in fines after throwing a party during the coronavirus pandemic, California police said.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 5:02 AM.
