Coronavirus update, Dec. 24: Stanislaus adds 12 deaths. ICU’s full sixth straight day
Latest facts on COVID-19 in Modesto area
Wednesday brought 12 more deaths to COVID-19 in Stanislaus County and a continued surge in intensive-care units and other hospital space.
A total of 556 residents have died since the first death was reported in April, the county Health Services Agency said. The past month has brought about a quarter of the total, including 66 in the last week.
The 462 new cases Wednesday raised the total to 31,568 positive tests for Stanislaus residents. Another 286,101 tests were negative, and 26,819 people are presumed recovered.
The county’s five hospitals had 334 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, down from 347 on Tuesday. The daily count had hovered around 40 in early fall.
Most of California is under a stay-home order because of tight ICU capacity. It was triggered when available beds for adults fell below 15% of the total in a region.
The index remained at zero Wednesday in the San Joaquin Valley Region, which takes in Stanislaus and 11 other counties. It has been stuck there for six straight days.
The 14-day positivity rate was 15.17%, up from 14.81% the previous day. The seven-day rate was 15.38%, up from 15.26%.
The demographic breakdowns of the positive tests as of Wednesday:
- 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 11,378 positive cases
- Turlock has 4,331
- Ceres has 3,361
- Patterson has 1,552
- Riverbank has 1,430
- Oakdale has 949
- Newman has 701
- Waterford has 360
- Hughson has 293
- Supervisorial District 3 has 1,632
- District 5 has 1,584
- District 2 has 1,350
- District 1 has 723
- District 4 has 212
- San Joaquin County has 603 COVID-19-related deaths among 40,328 cases.
- Merced County has 232 deaths among 17,785 cases
- Tuolumne County has 2,684 cases and 21 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 208 cases and four deaths.
As of Thursday morning, there were 2,010,004 confirmed cases in California and 23,651 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 18,466,908 U.S. cases and 326,242 deaths.
How four downtowns are coping
When Jennifer Brannon and her husband took over Lightly Used Books in downtown Turlock in January, they didn’t expect their first few months of operations to be upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
DMC nurses picket over patient ratios
Members of the California Nurses Association held a shift-change action Wednesday morning outside Doctors Medical Center to challenge state-approved waivers allowing hospitals to bypass California’s safe staffing regulations during the coronavirus pandemic.
United Samaritans suspends services
The United Samaritans Foundation on Monday shut down all of its services, including its mobile lunch program, because one employee tested positive for COVID-19.
County reels from coronavirus deaths
Stanislaus County is reporting eight coronavirus deaths per day, as local hospitals are filled with sick patients and many residents ignore a stay-home order in the days leading up to Christmas.
Jobless rate might be misleading
Unemployment numbers in Stanislaus County dropped to 8.3% in November, marking another month of decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Restaurants vary on complying with order
When Cheng Her and his business partner, Nicholas Vang, bought Modesto Sukiyaki almost a year ago, they expected challenges because they were new to the restaurant industry. But they did not expect a pandemic that has been a public health and economic disaster.
Hear Bee’s health reporter, editor on vaccines
Modesto Bee editor Brian Clark and health reporter Dr. ChrisAnna Mink conducted an online Q&A about COVID-19 vaccines on Monday.
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.
Local health workers get first vaccines
Denis Garrison, a supervising surgical nurse at Oak Valley Hospital, was among the first health care workers Friday in Stanislaus County to be immunized with the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.
From around the state, nation and world
President Donald Trump urged Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks in the next coronavirus relief deal, calling the legislation just passed by both the U.S. House and Senate a “disgrace.”
A second Christmas singalong protest hosted Tuesday night by actor Kirk Cameron drew dozens to a Southern California shopping mall parking lot. Cameron billed the event as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions.
More than 1 million Americans have received their first doses of a COVID-19 shot across the country since federal officials authorized two vaccines for emergency use, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
