Coronavirus update, Dec. 21: Deaths, infections up, hospitalizations down in county
Latest facts on COVID-19 in Modesto area
Although positive test results and deaths tied COVID-19 continue to aggressively climb, Stanislaus County saw its hospitalizations fall to the lowest it’s been in eight days, according to data released Sunday night.
There were 315 people with confirmed coronavirus cases in the five county hospitals, a drop from 349 the day before and the lowest total since Dec. 12.
The number of available staffed intensive care unit beds stood at eight, down from 16 reported by the county on Saturday.
Still, the county reported six more deaths, surpassing 100 for the month, and 454 more cases that put it on the edge of 30,000 since the start of the pandemic.
While testing in December is at a rate of nearly twice that of November, the county is on pace to nearly triple the number of positive results from a month ago. There were 4,190 reported infections in November. In December, there have been 7,445 through the first 19 days, according to state data.
December’s positivity rate is 15.52%, while November’s was 10.37%.
The 14-day positivity rate remained at 14.9% from the previous day, while the seven-day rate grew from 15.3% to 16.36%. The state’s 14-day rate is 12%.
The total positive tests now stand at 29,992. Another 277,918 residents have tested negative and 25,291 are presumed recovered.
On statewide available staffed adult ICU beds, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California regions remained at 0%.
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 10,836 positive cases
- Turlock has 4,108
- Ceres has 3,183
- Patterson has 1,467
- Riverbank has 1,366
- Oakdale has 885
- Newman has 650
- Waterford has 334
- Hughson has 280
- Supervisorial District 3 has 1,557
- District 5 has 1,525
- District 2 has 1,277
- District 1 has 683
- District 4 has 200
- San Joaquin County has 561 COVID-19-related deaths among 36,428 cases.
- Merced County has 216 deaths among 16,026 cases
- Tuolumne County has 2,299 cases and 20 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 196 cases and four deaths.
As of Monday morning, there were 1,886,558 confirmed cases in California and 22,677 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 17,848,395 U.S. cases and 317,684 deaths.
Live vaccine Q&A this morning with The Bee
Join Modesto Bee editor Brian Clark and health reporter Dr. ChrisAnna Mink at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 21, for a live Q&A about COVID-19 vaccines.
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From around the state, nation and world
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This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
