Coronavirus

Coronavirus update, Nov. 29: More counties join Stanislaus in restrictive purple tier

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Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area

Hospital use for COVID-19 cases again rose in Stanislaus County, which reported 125 new positive tests on Saturday.

Also Saturday, a flurry of coronavirus tier-list updates were announced by health officials, bringing greater restrictions to several Northern California counties, including San Francisco, which slid back to the state’s most-restrictive purple tier as coronavirus cases continue to surge at an exponential rate statewide.

The state reported that the county’s positivity rate stood at 10.6% on Saturday, based on 2,151 tests. The rolling seven-day average was 10.34%. The 14-day average was 10.55%. The state reported a decline in cases in Stanislaus County on Saturday, by one. That likely came from a lag in updating records.

The state requires a positivity rate of under 8 percent to advance to the next less restrictive tier in its system.

No additional deaths were reported locally in the last day. A total of 424 Stanislaus residents have died from the virus, the county Health Services Agency announced.

The county has 21,585 people who have tested positive, 222,231 who tested negative and 19,416 who are presumed recovered.

A total of 179 people were hospitalized Friday with confirmed cases of the virus, up from 172 the day before. The number was around 40 for much of early fall but has risen on most November days. Six intensive care beds for adults were available Saturday, down from nine.

The demographic breakdowns of the positive tests as of Friday:

  • 54% are female
  • 46% male
  • 8% are 14 years or younger
  • 16% are ages 15 to 24
  • 20% 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 7,562 positive cases
  • Turlock has 2,879
  • Ceres has 2,348
  • Patterson has 1,093
  • Riverbank has 987
  • Oakdale has 496
  • Newman has 413
  • Waterford has 280
  • Hughson has 200
  • Supervisorial District 5 has 1,216
  • District 3 has 1,139
  • District 2 has 913
  • District 1 has 451
  • District 4 has 142

In other nearby counties:

San Joaquin and Merced counties have not updated since Wednesday.

As of Sunday morning, there were 1,202,895 confirmed cases in California and 19,132 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 13,247,646 U.S. cases and 264,866 deaths.

Learning hubs help students struggling most

Students who were struggling with distance learning are finding success in returning to school in small groups. Modesto City Schools set up learning hubs at both elementary and secondary sites, to serve the district’s most at-risk students, including homeless and foster youth.

Vintage Faire isn’t quite itself

It was a subdued Black Friday this year, with the coronavirus pandemic keeping many shoppers home across the nation. It looked to be a similar situation at Vintage Faire Mall on Friday

Modesto doctor: Virus really does kill

She looks at the box of dead people on her desk. It is almost full. Whenever she hears someone say that COVID-19 is not dangerous, that masks are not necessary, or that most people don’t die, she wants to invite them to visit her box of dead people.

Cases surge, vaccine looms

As COVID-19 cases shoot higher, Stanislaus County leaders don’t have many answers for bringing the surge under control. But local health officials are scrambling to prepare for a mid-December arrival of coronavirus vaccine for front line health workers.

Stanislaus jail has ‘minor’ outbreak

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department is reporting a “minor” coronavirus outbreak in its jail system. The outbreak was discovered Nov. 16 during screening required for inmates being sent to state prison.

MJC Turkey Trot goes virtual

The Turkey Trot and Gobbler Walk, which supports Modesto Junior College’s cross country and track and field programs, has gone virtual because of the pandemic.

Job creation could stall in winter

Unemployment in Stanislaus County continued to fall in October, but increased coronavirus restrictions could again cause a temporary rise in the jobless numbers as winter approaches.

How has on-campus learning gone in Oakdale?

The past five weeks in Oakdale have reinforced what most educators and families already agree upon: Distance learning doesn’t come close to in-person instruction, and there’s no 100% safe way to have children and adults on campuses.

Pandemic aggravates eating disorders

Isolation at home and the stress of the coronavirus pandemic evidently is driving a large number of referrals for people seeking help for eating disorders.

From around the state, nation and world

Skyrocketing COVID-19 case numbers have triggered a mandatory three-week “Safer at Home” order for Los Angeles County. The lockdown begins on Monday and lasts through Dec. 20.

The number of coronavirus infections in the U.S. could be nearly eight times higher than current reported cases, according to a new model by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 6:51 AM.

Patty Guerra
The Modesto Bee
Patty Guerra is managing editor at The Modesto Bee. She has held several writing and editing roles since starting at The Bee in 1999. She’s a graduate of Fresno State.
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