Coronavirus update, Nov. 1: Stanislaus County’s recent trend tempers October success
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
The Stanislaus County coronavirus infection rate continued its negative trend, according to new data released Saturday by the Health Services Agency.
The positivity rate of 10.92 raised the 14-day rolling rate to 9.33%, more than 1 percentage point ahead of the previous 14 days of 8.24%.
This came on the same day available adult intensive care unit beds fell to eight and the third straight day the county’s five hospitals reported 50+ residents with confirmed cases.
While recent trends put the county at risk of slipping back to the most business-restrictive purple tier of the state’s reopening plan, October’s statistics showed an improvement over previous months.
The county reported 39 deaths in October, down from 102 in September and 148 in August, according to the county dashboard.
The month’s infection rate, according to reported data from the county, was 8.36%, down from 11.08% in September and well off the rates in July and August, which were above 19%.
October’s 16,945 reported test results were more than September (16,268), but well off July and August, when more than 28,000 in each month were released.
The 56 reported cases Saturday was the 10th time in the last 11 days there were more than 46 cases. While there were an average of about 90 more tests per day during that period than in the previous 11 days, county officials say an average of 40 is the limit for keeping the economic reopening on track.
The county has advanced out of the purple tier and into the less-restrictive red tier, but has to maintain low rates and per capita numbers in order to stay there or advance to orange.
The state will release new tier ratings on Tuesday.
Stanislaus County now has 17,928 residents who have tested positive, 103,776 who have tested negative and 17,147 who are presumed recovered.
Saturday’s positive rate of 10.92% was up from 9.88% on Friday. The rolling seven-day average was 9.33%, up from 7.57% the day before. The rate since data collection began in March was 14.7%.
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Details on the positive cases with some numbers not having been updated for a few weeks:
- 54% are female
- 46% male
- 7% are 14 years or younger, up 1% from Friday.
- 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 Saturday:
- San Joaquin County has 494 COVID-19-related deaths among 22,106 cases.
- Merced County has 156 deaths among 9,674 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 291 cases and six deaths.
- Mariposa County has 81 cases and two deaths.
As of Sunday morning, there were 932,461 confirmed cases in California and 17,667 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 9,127,229 U.S. cases and 230,566 deaths.
Halloween night in Modesto somewhat subdued
With several drive-in Halloween festivities early in the day, the always popular nighttime tradition in neighborhoods across Modesto was lacking in ghosts, goblins and witches.
Paltry Velvet fine a slap in the face to compliant restaurants
It’s outrageous that Velvet Grill & Creamery got away with paying only $10,000 for openly flouting COVID-19 public health directives, diners’ safety and the law., according to The Bee’s Editorial Board.
Velvet Creamery, Tru-Fitness pay city fines
The owner of the Velvet Grill & Creamery has paid Modesto to settle the action the city brought against its two restaurants for serving customers indoors in violation of public health restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
Some craft fairs will skip 2020
If your holiday traditions include browsing the craft fairs that normally take place in the region in November, options will be limited this year.
Former Modestan chides Dodgers player
To the dismay of myself, other healthcare professionals, and the community at large, Justin Turner, the Dodgers’ starting third baseman, acted with shortsightedness after learning that he tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the start of the eighth inning of Game 6 that night.
Vintage Faire tweaks Santa plans
Yes, Modesto, there will be a Santa Claus at the mall this year. But no, sorry, there will be no sitting on his lap.
Stanislaus risks backslide on rules
Stanislaus County barely made the cut Tuesday for staying in the coronavirus program’s red tier but residents will have to work hard to avoid a backslide to tighter state restrictions on local businesses.
Latest help for homeless totals $22.8 million
Providers that run emergency shelters, conduct homeless outreach and house homeless people in Stanislaus County and its cities are in line to receive nearly $22.8 million from the CARES Act, the federal stimulus designed to respond to the new coronavirus pandemic.
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.
From around the state, nation and world
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced a new month-long lockdown for England after being warned that without tough action a resurgent coronavirus outbreak will overwhelm hospitals in weeks.
A Utah Department of Health building was shot with a pellet gun as protesters unhappy with a recent mask mandate converge on the home of the state’s top public health official, reports say.
In-person voting started for most California counties this weekend as local election officials — many for the first time — opened polling places days early in hopes of avoiding crushing crowds on Election Day.
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
