Coronavirus update, Sept. 22: Stanislaus’ positive rate stays low. Two more deaths
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
Stanislaus County announced two more deaths to the virus Monday, for a total of 337 since the pandemic started.
The county had 32 new positives tests, bringing the total to 16,351, the Health Services Agency reported. Another 84,588 residents have tested negative, and 15,589 are presumed recovered.
Monday’s positive rate of 6.75% was down from 7.13% the day before. The rolling seven-day average was 8.93% The 14-day average was 10.9% The positive rate since data collection began in March was 16.2%
As Stanislaus County’s infection rate continues to decline, the true test of where it stands will come Tuesday when the state releases data tied to its four-tiered grading system that goes toward guiding a county on when it can relax regulations on schools and businesses.
Locked in the lowest performing purple tier, Stanislaus will find out if its positivity rate and cases per 100,000 residents fall enough to meet the standard to be considered for the “red tier.”
Currently, Stanislaus County, among the majority of counties statewide, is in the purple-tier, marked by “widespread” infection among its residents. Under the state’s system, Stanislaus County’s 5.6% positivity rate meets the 7% standard to be in the red tier. However, its 9.4 positive cases per 100,000 is above the 8 cases per 100,000 needed to meet requirements.
Even if Stanislaus County moves into the red tier on Tuesday, it must remain there for two weeks to cement its place and take advantage of easing regulations on schools, restaurants and other businesses.
Hospital capacity continued strong Monday. The county’s five hospitals had 67 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up from 64 on Sunday but much better than the 200-plus in mid-August. There were 19 available intensive-care beds for adults, up from 12 the day before.
- Of those who tested positive in Stanislaus County, 54% are female and 46% male. Seven percent are 14 or younger, 16% 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 5,900 positive cases, 2,164 are in Turlock, 1,993 are in Ceres, 803 are in Riverbank, 783 are in Patterson, 349 are in Oakdale, 324 are in Newman, 227 are in Waterford, and 143 are in Hughson. Of the cases in unincorporated areas, 1,005 are in supervisorial District 5, 914 are in District 3, which includes Salida, 719 are in District 2, 340 are in District 1, and 105 are in District 4.
In other nearby counties:
- San Joaquin County has 415 COVID-19-related deaths among 19,841 cases.
- Merced County has 137 deaths among 8,820 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 226 cases and four deaths.
- Mariposa County has 75 cases and two deaths.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 790,916 confirmed cases in California and 15,072 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 6,858,130 U.S. cases and 199,890 deaths.
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