Coronavirus update, Dec. 14: Deaths, infections and hospitalizations continue to grow
Latest facts on COVID-19 testing in Modesto area
The number of deaths, infections and hospitalizations continued to soar throughout Stanislaus County in new data released on Sunday.
The county recorded five more deaths, bringing to 473 the total of fatalities since the start of the pandemic. The county, the 16th most populous of the state’s 58, ranks 11th in overall deaths and has nearly three times that of San Francisco County.
Of those residents who have died in Stanislaus County, 78% are aged 65 and older, 46% are white although they represent just 41% of the population and 54% are male.
Meanwhile, the county saw its hospitalizations grow from 304 to 324 in the area’s five hospitals as of Sunday afternoon. Just four staffed adult intensive care unit beds existed on the same day the state reported that the San Joaquin Valley Region’s available beds grew from 0% to 1.5%.
Stanislaus, which at its summer peak had 232 patients hospitalized with a confirmed COVID case, has the ninth highest total of confirmed hospitalized patients in the state, according to the data from Saturday.
The number of positive test results reported Sunday by the county was 383, largely mirroring numbers seen since a few days after Thanksgiving. The 14-day positivity rate, according to state data, dropped slightly from the day before to 14.87%. The seven-day rate also saw a small decline to 13.38% from the day before.
The new data Sunday gives the county 26,744 positive cases, 13th highest in the state, with 22,644 who are presumed recovered. There have been 256,865 negative tests.
The demographic breakdowns of the positive tests as of Saturday:
- 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 9,586 positive cases
- Turlock has 3,611
- Ceres has 2,887
- Patterson has 1,297
- Riverbank has 1,200
- Oakdale has 753
- Newman has 551
- Waterford has 310
- Hughson has 257
- Supervisorial District 5 has 1,397
- District 3 has 1,381
- District 2 has 1,123
- District 1 has 606
- District 4 has 168
- San Joaquin County has 534 COVID-19-related deaths among 31,720 cases.
- Merced County has 207 deaths among 14,483 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 1,653 cases and 17 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 178 cases and four deaths.
As of Monday morning, there were 1,586,978 confirmed cases in California and 21,046 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 16,257,899 U.S. cases and 299,191 deaths.
Free money part of the RAD Card program
Everyone could use a little free money this time of year. And now the RAD Card is going to give Stanislaus County residents even more just in time for the holidays.
COVID keeps spreading at Stanislaus nursing facilities
Ongoing outbreaks pushed the number of COVID-19 cases among nursing home residents in Stanislaus County past new records this week.
Where will patients go for ICU care?
The number of staffed intensive care unit beds available in Stanislaus County fell to just four of the approximately 115 beds, or 4.6%, on Friday. The capacity of ICU beds in the San Joaquin Valley region, Stanislaus County’s next tier for medical resources, is also stretched to its limit, with only 4.5% of staffed beds available.
Details on vaccine rollout in Stanislaus
Nearly 4,000 doses of Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated to Stanislaus County, but don’t roll up your sleeves just yet. First in line are health care workers in acute care hospitals with the highest risk for exposure.
So what exactly has closed here?
While in many ways the order is similar to the one issued in March, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there are significant differences in Stanislaus and nearby counties.
How to help Stanislaus businesses survive holidays
Modesto and Stanislaus County restaurants and retailers suggest best ways to help them survive new COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home lockdown order.
From around the state, nation and world
A top health official on Sunday pleaded with Americans to overcome skepticism surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.
When California police pulled over a Maseratis SUV in October, they found $197,000 cash, 17 unemployment debit cards, methamphetamine and a gun, federal officials say. Driver Robert Sloan Mateer, 30, of Pasadena, obtained the cash, cards and Maserati as part of a COVID relief scam
The growing availability of coronavirus vaccines is a “ray of hope” for hosting the Olympics next summer, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Monday as Japan struggles with a new surge in infections.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 4:55 AM.
