Coronavirus update, Oct. 23: Stanislaus reports most new cases in nearly 2 weeks
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
Stanislaus County added 53 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the most since the 64 positive tests announced Oct. 9.
The county Health Services Agency reported a single death for the fourth straight day, for a total of 395 residents lost to the pandemic.
Total cases have reached 17,455, along with 99,211 people who have tested negative and 16,797 who are presumed recovered.
Thursday’s positive rate of 9.63% was up from 5.63% on Wednesday and more than triple the 2.74% on Tuesday. The rolling seven-day average was 7.09% on Thursday, up from 6.72% the day before. The 14-day average was 7.64%, down from 7.9%. The rate since data collection began in March was 15%.
The county’s five hospitals had 39 confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday, down from 44 on Wednesday. The autumn numbers compare with 200-plus patients on many summer days. The number of available intensive-care beds for adults was at 10 on Thursday, down from 12.
.png "Screenshot (94).png")
In the first update Tuesday since leaving the move restrictive purple tier a week ago, Stanislaus County was able to meet the criteria for staying in the red status of California’s “slow and stringent” coronavirus reopening program.
The county’s adjusted case rate was reported Tuesday as 6 per 100,000 population, below the 7 per 100,000 maximum for the red tier. The county easily met the state criteria for test positivity criteria. It was 4.3 percent countywide and 4.7 percent in low-income neighborhoods that were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 outbreaks.
The state’s red tier requirement for test positivity is 8 percent or less.
Stanislaus County must remain in the red tier for another week before schools are eligible to open for all grade levels.
The county has not updated its demographic data since Oct. 8. Details on the positive cases as of that date:
- 54% are female
- 46% male
- 7% are 14 years or younger
- 16% are ages 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,
- 2% are 85 or older.
- Though they make up 47 percent of the population, Latinos represented 64 percent of the positive cases.
Geographically:
- Modesto has 6,461 positive cases
- Turlock has 2,322
- Ceres has 2,160
- Riverbank has 863
- Patterson has 857
- Oakdale has 398
- Newman has 348
- Waterford has 265
- Hughson has 169
- Supervisorial District 5 has 1,101
- District 3 has 977
- District 2 has 760
- District 1 has 374
- District 4 has 124
In other nearby counties as of Thursday:
- San Joaquin County has 488 COVID-19-related deaths among 21,528 cases.
- Merced County has 154 deaths among 9,439 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 262 cases and four deaths.
- Mariposa County has 78 cases and two deaths.
As of Thursday evening, there were 893,597 confirmed cases in California and 17,256 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 8,404,743 U.S. cases and 223,000 deaths.
There has been some movement on the reopening of schools in previous weeks, 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.
Early voting is a hit in Stanislaus
The number of mail ballots returned for the upcoming Nov. 3 election in Stanislaus County is double the amount in 2016, said Donna Linder, county registrar of voters, who’s pleased with the early voting this year.
Modesto and Kansas experts offer Halloween advice
An online forum Wednesday featured expert advice on how to safely celebrate Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos. One speaker was Dr. ChrisAnna Mink, a Modesto Bee health reporter. The other was Dr. Danielle Johnson, a clinical psychologist with the University of Kansas Health System. McClatchy newsrooms teamed up for the event.
Timely story from Modesto family wracked by suicide
Mitchell Brownlee was only 21 when the Modesto native took his own life in 2016. His family shared his story at a time when COVID-19 has added new stresses for vulnerable people.
MCS tweaks plan for K-6 reopening
With a few revisions, the Modesto City Schools Board of Education on Monday night approved submitting an updated waiver application to reopen elementary schools for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest on high school sports
With a little over two months before the start of the high school sports season in Stanislaus County, questions remain whether games will be played amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Taiwanese Chamber helps with masks
In what county CEO Jody Hayes called “a really, really nice surprise for us here in Stanislaus County,” a donation of 10,000 medical masks from the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce San Francisco Bay Area was received in downtown Modesto on Thursday.
Modesto Christian pauses K-6 return
Modesto Christian School has returned to distance learning for all students for two weeks following positive COVID-19 tests for some of the employees.
COVID-19: Stanislaus County churches can open indoor services
Places of worship can reopen now with limited capacity across Stanislaus County since its move to red tier status in California’s coronavirus reopening plan.
From around the state, nation and world
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the antiviral drug remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized coronavirus patients in the U.S. — the first and only approved COVID-19 treatment as of yet.
A Texas woman in her 30s died from COVID-19 while sitting on an airplane waiting to take off, Dallas County officials said. The woman died in July while on a flight from Arizona to Texas, NBC DFW and other media outlets reported.
