Coronavirus update, Jan. 3: High infection rate, 8 more deaths in Stanislaus County
Latest facts on COVID-19 in Modesto area
Available staffed adult intensive care unit beds in Stanislaus County dropped to its second lowest level in two weeks as the state-calculated single-day positivity rate remained above 20% for a second straight day.
In addition, the Health Services Agency recorded eight more deaths for 624 since its first reported fatality in April. Nearly a third of all deaths have come since Dec. 1, and the county’s 115.7 deaths per 100,000 residents is the second highest total among the state’s 58 counties, behind only Imperial.
The state reported a 21.29% infection rate for the first day of the year, leaving the county’s overall rate at nearly 16%, about 3.5 percentage points higher than the state.
The county, which did not report on New Year’s day, announced Saturday a two-day total of 1,006 new cases out of 6,788 rest results.
Meanwhile, Stanislaus County hospitalizations of patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday were up slightly, to 320, and there were three staffed intensive care unit beds available for adults, down from four the day before.
Data on 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, was not updated Saturday. The day before, San Joaquin and Southern California were at 0%. the Bay Area at 6.3%, Sacramento 11.1% and Northern California, which stretches north to Humboldt County, was at 33.3%.
The county has recorded 35,471 overall cases. Stanislaus also has 311,480 negative test results and 31,050 people who are presumed recovered from the virus. The overall positivity rate since the county’s first positive test in March is 10.22%.
Of the total cases statewide, Stanislaus, the 16th most populous county, ranks 14th.
Last week, the county, in addition to announcing it had been allocated 15,000 vaccine doses, unveiled its distribution plan. It outlined the order in which sectors and residents, by phase and tiers, would be offered vaccinations. Currently, it is in Phase 1, Tier 1, which covers “acute care, psychiatric and correctional facility hospital staff.”
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 Saturday:
- 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,
- 17.5% 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 12,557 positive cases
- Turlock has 4,779
- Ceres has 3,751
- Patterson has 1,709
- Riverbank has 1,557
- Oakdale has 1,049
- Newman has 755
- Waterford has 399
- Hughson has 339
- Supervisorial District 3 has 1,806
- District 5 has 1,698
- District 2 has 1,469
- District 1 has 778
- District 4 has 238
- 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 265 cases and four deaths.
As of Sunday morning, there were 2,390,626 confirmed cases in California and 26,551 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 20,430,797 U.S. cases and 350,214 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
Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center is investigating an outbreak of the coronavirus in its emergency department that has infected at least 43 staff members.
Former CNN talk show host Larry King has been hospitalized with COVID-19 for more than a week, the news channel reported Saturday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that more onerous lockdown restrictions in England are likely as the country reels from a new coronavirus variant that has pushed infection rates to their highest recorded levels.
This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 5:25 AM.
