Coronavirus

Coronavirus update, Dec. 26: Hospitalizations, infection rate flat in Stanislaus County

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Latest facts on COVID-19 in Modesto area

As Stanislaus County health care workers await a potential Christmas surge of COVID cases in the coming weeks, there was a small amount of light on Christmas Day, according to the latest data released Friday.

Hospitalizations in the county were down and the coronavirus positivity rate was the lowest in 11 days.

There were 324 patients with confirmed COVID patients in hospitals on Thursday, the lowest number in five days. Meanwhile, there were seven available staffed adult intensive care unit beds, the third straight day at least six were available, the county reported.

The number of new cases and deaths were not reported Friday due to the holiday. Resumption of those updates are expected to continue this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the state showed the county’s single-day infection rate at 12.76%, the lowest in 11 days. Both the seven-day and 14-day rolling averages fell slightly. The 14-day rate is 15.59%, above the state’s overall 12.4%, but below San Joaquin County (18%), Merced County (19.6%) and Tuolumne County (36.7%).

The death toll stands at 565. There have been 31,914 positive test results, 289,287 negative test results and 27,257 people who are presumed recovered from the virus.

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 Friday in the San Joaquin Valley Region, which takes in Stanislaus and 11 other counties. It has not moved in a week.

The demographic breakdowns of the positive tests in Stanislaus County 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 11,526 positive cases
  • Turlock has 4,401
  • Ceres has 3,409
  • Patterson has 1,570
  • Riverbank has 1,448
  • Oakdale has 963
  • Newman has 707
  • Waterford has 363
  • Hughson has 300
  • Supervisorial District 3 has 1,653
  • District 5 has 1,594
  • District 2 has 1,361
  • District 1 has 728
  • District 4 has 217

As of Saturday morning, there were 2,065,804 confirmed cases in California and 23,991 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 118,762,893 U.S. cases and 330,279 deaths.

Nursing homes in Stanislaus County to get vaccine

CVS Pharmacy is beginning a vaccine rollout starting, bringing coronavirus vaccinations to residents and staff members in nursing homes in Stanislaus County.

Turlock florist’s donations get celebrity push

Heidi Sisco hoped to get 30 to 40 donations to send some holiday joy to residents of Turlock nursing homes. With some unexpected celebrity assistance, she’s delivering 500 poinsettias.

Judge orders safeguards at Foster Farms plant

Following a coronavirus outbreak that infected hundreds of workers and killed several, the Foster Farms plant in Livingston must now provide masks and comply with other state safety health protocols, a judge ruled.

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

French health authorities have confirmed the country’s first case of the virus variant that prompted strict new lockdown measures in Britain and global travel restrictions.

The latest hand sanitizer recalled for possibly having methanol was not only sold at retail, but used in bottles carrying the labels of entities from the U.S. Census Bureau to a Texas roofing business.

Beijing has urged residents not to leave the city during the Lunar New Year holiday in February, implementing new restrictions after several coronavirus infections last week.

Brian Clark
The Modesto Bee
Editor Brian Clark has worked at The Modesto Bee since 1990. He’s worked in various departments, including sports, news and on the digital side for a decade before being promoted to editor in 2018. He’s a native of Berkeley and a graduate of San Diego State University. Prior to The Bee, Brian worked at the Turlock Journal and Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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