Coronavirus update, Jan. 2: Stanislaus County’s high infection rate not budging
Latest facts on COVID-19 in Modesto area
As many health experts predicted months ago, a spike in the coronavirus would be seen when cold weather drove people indoors.
Data released by the state Friday supported their case, which showed Stanislaus County’s infection rate growing from 10.37% in November to 15.3% in December.
The county closed out 2020 with a single-day positivity rate of 28.09% based on 409 more positive cases from just 1,456 recorded tests. The current 14-day rolling average rate was at 15.31%, up from 14.67% the day before. The state is at 12.2%.
In December, there were 12,239 new cases in the county from 79,989 tests. November saw 4,190 new cases out of 40,402 test results.
Meanwhile, New Year’s Day Stanislaus County hospitalizations of patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were up slightly, to 318, and there were four staffed intensive care unit beds available for adults, down from five the day before.
There were no updates on deaths, which stood at 616 after a record 188 for the county in December. Numbers of total cases also were not updated in Stanislaus and other area counties on the holiday.
The 12-county San Joaquin Valley Region ICU space, which fell below 15% last month to trigger a stay-at-home order that remains in effect, remained at 0%. Southern California also was at 0%, while the Bay Area dropped to 6.3% and Sacramento 11.1%. Northern California, which stretches north to Humboldt County, was at 33.3%.
The county has a total of 34,465 cases. Stanislaus also has 305,698 negative test results and 30,383 people who are presumed recovered from the virus.
Among the state’s 58 counties, Stanislaus County’s rate of cases per 100,000 residents stood at 16th highest, according to the Los Angeles Times tracker. Merced is ninth and San Joaquin County is 19th.
Information regarding vaccinations in Stanislaus County is on the county dashboard at schsa.org/coronavirus/vaccine/.
The demographic breakdowns of the positive tests in Stanislaus County as of Friday:
- 53.9% are female
- 46.1% male
- 7.5% are 14 years or younger
- 16.1% are ages 15 to 24
- 19.7% are 25 to 34,
- 17.6% are 35 to 44,
- 15.1% are 45 to 54
- 12% are 55 to 64
- 6.5% are 65 to 74
- 3.5% are 75 to 84
- 2% are 85 or older.
- Though they make up 47 percent of the population, Latinos represented 63.7 percent of the positive cases.
Geographically:
- Modesto has 12,408 positive cases
- Turlock has 4,716
- Ceres has 3,698
- Patterson has 1,691
- Riverbank has 1,541
- Oakdale has 1,035
- Newman has 749
- Waterford has 390
- Hughson has 329
- Supervisorial District 3 has 1,777
- District 5 has 1,689
- District 2 has 1,450
- District 1 has 767
- District 4 has 235
- San Joaquin County has 651 COVID-19-related deaths among 45,583 cases.
- Merced County has 260 deaths among 19,444 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 2,962 cases and 21 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 252 cases and four deaths.
As of Saturday morning, there were 2,342,812 confirmed cases in California and 26,363 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 20,136,768 U.S. cases and 347,870 deaths.
Vaccine allotment nears 15,000
Almost 15,000 vaccine doses have now been allocated to Stanislaus County, pushing forward an effort to vaccinate health care workers nd other priority groups against COVID-19.
Staying safe on an odd New Year’s weekend
Modesto police want residents to ring in the new year safely, but officers’ efforts Thursday night and into the holiday weekend will be focused primarily on impaired drivers and armed revelers, not shutting down celebratory gatherings.
Stay-home order isn’t going anywhere soon
Stanislaus County and the rest of the San Joaquin Valley region remains under a state stay-home order designed to slow a winter surge of the coronavirus pandemic.
Modesto bus drivers, staff contract COVID-19
Modesto Area Express buses are making fewer trips after about a dozen of its employees tested positive for COVID-19, according to the city.
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.
From around the state, nation and world
California started the new year by reporting a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day after a health official said the pandemic was pushing state hospitals to the “brink of catastrophe” as some medical centers scramble to provide oxygen for the critically ill.
Southern California residents mostly stayed home on New Year’s Eve, heeding warnings by public health officials, but several large gatherings were still held across the region, including one by Christian activist Sean Feucht that drew hundreds of mostly unmasked attendants to a church parking lot in nearby Valencia.
India tested its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system with a nationwide trial on Saturday as it prepares to roll out an inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic.
This story was originally published January 2, 2021 at 5:52 AM.
