Coronavirus

Coronavirus update, Sept. 16: Stanislaus adds 4 deaths. New cases lowest since June

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Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area

Stanislaus County announced four more deaths to the virus Tuesday, raising its total to 317. It also had the lowest number of new cases in three months.

A total of 16,052 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, up 28 from Monday, the county Health Services Agency said. That was the smallest numerical increase since the 24 on June 16.

Another 81,539 residents have tested negative, and 15,247 are presumed recovered.

Tuesday’s positive rate was 8.91%, compared with 7.49% from a larger testing pool Monday. The rolling seven-day average was 9.33%, down from 12.45% on Monday. The 14-day average of 14.56% was below the 18.6% from the previous 14-day mark ending Sept. 1.

The county’s overall positive rate since March is 16.4%.

Hospitalizations for those with confirmed cases declined again, to 79 from 86 on Monday. Eight adult intensive care unit beds were available among the five Stanislaus County hospitals, down from nine the day before.

The county remained in the lowest purple tier, part of Gov. Newsom’s new grading system that will go toward measuring the ability to begin fully reopening businesses.

Stanislaus, along with the majority of the 58 California counties, is in the “purple tier,” with 9.4% positive cases per 100,000 residents and a positivity rate of 5.6%% in new data released Tuesday.

To move up into the “red tier,” which enables a softening of restrictions, the county needs to be both at seven positive cases per 100,000 or below and a positivity rate of 8% or below.

There also could be some movement on the reopening of schools this week, with some having applied for waivers through the Stanislaus County Office of Education. Here also is the state list, which includes Stanislaus private schools seeking waiver approvals.

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, 12% 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 64 percent of the positive cases.

Modesto has 5,756 positive cases, 2,119 are in Turlock, 1,955 are in Ceres, 786 are in Riverbank, 754 are in Patterson, 339 are in Oakdale, 321 are in Newman, 225 are in Waterford, and 140 are in Hughson. Of the cases in unincorporated areas, 988 are in supervisorial District 5, 886 are in District 3, which includes Salida, 705 are in District 2, 332 are in District 1, and 100 are in District 4.

In other nearby counties:

As of Tuesday evening, there were 768,763 confirmed cases in California and 14,616 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 6,606,674 U.S. cases and 195,961 deaths.

Stanislaus County inches closer to ‘red tier’

Stanislaus County remains in the coronavirus tier with the tightest restrictions while posting a lower number of cases this month. But health officials are encouraged.

Amazon adds jobs in Patterson, elsewhere

Amazon is recruiting more than 100,000 workers across the U.S. and Canada in anticipation of the holiday season, over 2,500 of which will be hired across the Central Valley.

Pandemic squeezes county budget

Stanislaus County’s final budget is marked by significant financial impacts from the coronavirus pandemic, forcing the county to use additional savings to balance the 2020-21 spending plan.

Several private schools go live

Several private schools in Stanislaus County, including Modesto Christian, Big Valley Christian and Sacred Heart in Turlock, resumed in-person instruction Monday for transitional-kindergarten through sixth-grade students. A few others brought students back last week, immediately after having their reopening plans approved by the state.

Health officials urge residents to get flu shots

Public health officials and medical experts say Americans older than 6 months should be getting an influenza vaccination in 2020, especially during coronavirus.

The city must make a move on downtown street closures

Modesto officials must put petty politics aside and develop a plan to close or narrow some downtown streets to help restaurants survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stanislaus State classes remaining virtual for spring 2021

California State University, Stanislaus, students will continue taking classes virtually instead of on campus next semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.

New firm aids teetering restaurants

Stuart’s Business Consulting has opened in downtown Modesto, staffed with experts on hiring, finance, marketing and other tasks. It is celebrating its launch with free initial consultations for restaurants struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic

Hundreds have filed COVID-19 complaints against Stanislaus businesses

Modesto residents filed complaints of businesses violating coronavirus public health orders. Many mentioned masks compliance and indoor operations.

From around the state, nation and world

The coronavirus pandemic has changed much of how we live our lives, especially where grocery shopping is concerned.

Nearly 300,000 gun sales may have been allowed to proceed without complete background checks during the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, a report found.

New detailed images of lung cells under a special microscope illustrate how “intense” a novel coronavirus infection in the airways can be, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

John Holland
The Modesto Bee
John Holland covers agriculture, transportation and general assignment news. He has been with The Modesto Bee since 2000 and previously worked at newspapers in Sonora and Visalia. He was born and raised in San Francisco and has a journalism degree from UC Berkeley.
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