Coronavirus update, Dec. 4: Stanislaus announces 3 deaths; state releases ICU figures

Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area

Stanislaus County added 252 cases of the virus and reported three deaths Thursday, which also brought word of an impending stay-home order.

A total of 433 residents have died since the first was announced April 10, the county Health Services Agency said. The county has 22,876 people who have tested positive and 20,455 who are presumed recovered. The number of negative tests was not updated from the 228,763 on Wednesday.

The state reported a 17.78% positivity rate in Stanislaus on Wednesday, based on 1,484 tests. That figure is released a day later than the county agency’s data. The rolling seven-day average was 12.87%. The 14-day average was 12.56%.

The state requires a positivity rate of under 8 percent to advance to the next less restrictive tier in its system. That means an average of 40 or fewer new cases a day in Stanislaus.

The state announced a regional stay-home order Thursday that will close certain businesses and ban social gatherings in regions of California where hospitals are struggling.

The order will be implemented in regions where intensive care unit capacity falls below 15%.

In the San Joaquin Valley, which includes Stanislaus County, the ICU capacity in hospitals was 14.1% on Saturday, down from 19.7% on Thursday. The new percentage was released by the California Department of Public Health late Friday night.

State officials predicted Thursday the San Joaquin Valley was on track to drop below 15 percent ICU capacity early this month.

According to Stanislaus County, the number of patients in its five hospitals grew to 221 on Thursday, up from 215 the day before. There are five available adult intensive care unit beds, up from four the day before, and five available neonatal ICU beds.

The demographic breakdowns of the positive tests as of Thursday:

• 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 8,202 positive cases
• Turlock has 3,121
• Ceres has 2,551
• Patterson has 1,158
• Riverbank has 1,042
• Oakdale has 586
• Newman has 444
• Waterford has 288
• Hughson has 217
• Supervisorial District 5 has 1,280
• District 3 has 1,192
• District 2 has 985
• District 1 has 501
• District 4 has 149

In other nearby counties:

• San Joaquin County has 522 COVID-19-related deaths among 27,083 cases.
  
  
• Merced County has 186 deaths among 12,622 cases.
  
  
• Tuolumne County has 1,155 cases and 11 deaths.
  
  
• Mariposa County has 148 cases and three deaths.

As of Friday morning, there were 1,290,775 confirmed cases in California and 19,594 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 14,148,719 U.S. cases and 276,401 deaths.

Stanislaus is part of new stay-home order

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday a regional stay-home order in the coming days in the latest attempt to slow a coronavirus surge in California that’s resulting in close to 20,000 new cases every day.

What order means for business, other activities

As the San Joaquin Valley steams toward another shutdown due to the COVID-19 surge in Stanislaus County and the region, business and community members are bracing themselves for what comes next.

Murder suspect left prison early due to COVID-19

The Modesto man suspected in a fatal shooting on Monday should have been in prison but he’d been released six months early as a result of the state’s accelerated release program designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 within prisons, according to Sheriff Jeff Dirkse.

What Modesto neighborhood has highest rate of cases?

The Modesto ZIP code 95351 has the highest rate of coronavirus cases in Stanislaus County, showing how the pandemic affects low-income and Latino communities. One family tells a heartbreaking story.

Johansen drive-thru offers free flu vaccines

With local hospitals full of COVID-19 patients, Stanislaus County Health Services Agency wants to minimize any additional burden of influenza by offering free drive-thru influenza vaccines on Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. at Johansen High School.

Doc McStuffins has a message for the moment

Disney Junior’s beloved preschool doctor, Doc McStuffins, never misses rounds with her young audience, and during the COVID-19 pandemic is no different.

Editorial: Stanislaus must pinpoint outbreaks

People in neighboring Merced County find it helpful to know the exact name and location of recent COVID-19 outbreaks pinpointed at 30 specific businesses, care homes and schools. Stanislaus County does not offer this online help.

Two deputies file complaint as jail cases grow

More than 100 inmates and staff at the Stanislaus County jail have tested positive for the coronavirus, as authorities deal with a growing outbreak.

Blacks die at disproportionate rate

California’s surgeon general, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, said in a webinar last Monday that African-Americans make up 6% of the state’s population and slightly more than 4% of COVID-19 cases, but account for 7.4% of deaths.

Modesto family loses parents hours apart

Two weeks ago, on Friday the 13th, Ed Pugh of Ceres — suffering with COVID-19 in a Modesto hospital — took his last tortured breath. Sixteen hours later, so did his wife, Retta. Both were 61.

From around the state, nation and world

Along with needles, syringes and alcohol prep pads, COVID-19 vaccine ancillary supply kits will include “vaccination record cards” for providers to give to every person who gets the shot.

Jobs lost early in the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to come back — but it may take a while, experts say. Moody’s Analytics said it could take four years to regain the 22 million jobs that went away in March and April.

A couple was arrested after flying from San Francisco to Lihue, Hawaii, on Sunday despite testing positive for the coronavirus, police said.

This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 5:33 AM.

John Holland

The Modesto Bee

209-578-2385

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.