Coronavirus update, Feb. 6: Hospital cases hold steady in Stanislaus; 4 more deaths
Hospital COVID-19 cases held steady Friday in Stanislaus County amid cautious hope that the worst of the winter surge is past.
The county Health Services Agency also reported four more deaths to the pandemic. The total has reached 857 residents since last April.
Stanislaus had 200 new positive tests Friday, for a total of 47,176. The county also has 402,554 negative test results and 44,112 people who are presumed recovered from the virus.
The county’s five hospitals had 223 confirmed COVID-19 patients Friday, up from 218 the previous day. The number had fallen for 10 straight days starting Jan. 25. Available ICU beds for adults rose from two to five.
The seven-day rolling positivity rate was 11.84%, down from 12.4%. The 14-day rate was 13.51%, down from 13.68%.
Over the last seven days, Stanislaus County’s infection rate per 100,000 residents ranks fourth highest among the state’s 58 counties and rate of death is 13th, according to the Los Angeles Times COVID-19 tracker. Its overall death rate per 100,000 residents remains fourth in the state. Its infection rate per 100,000 residents is 16th.
A long-term projection of easing ICU capacity prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 25 to lift the stay-home order in the 12-county San Joaquin Valley Region. Stanislaus remains in the purple tier, the most restrictive for business and gatherings.
As of Friday, 41,200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been allocated to Stanislaus County, unchanged for several days. This includes 19,660 doses to health care providers and 21,540 to public health. The numbers do not include federal allocations to staff and residents at nursing care facilities and some provided directly to hospital systems.
Information regarding vaccinations in Stanislaus County is on the county dashboard at http://schsa.org/coronavirus/vaccine/.
California has administered 3,920,632 vaccines as of Friday, up from 3,723,803 on Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker. The state ranks 39th in the country, having administered 9,923 doses per 100,000 residents. Alaska ranks first, Missouri 50th among the states.
Here are the demographic breakdowns of the positive tests in Stanislaus County as of Friday:
- 53.6% are female
- 46.4% male
- 8% are 14 years or younger
- 16.4% are ages 15 to 24
- 19.5% are 25 to 34
- 17.3% are 35 to 44
- 14.9% are 45 to 54
- 12% are 55 to 64
- 6.6% are 65 to 74
- 3.4% are 75 to 84
- 1.9% 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 17,299 positive cases
- Turlock has 6,362
- Ceres has 4,899
- Patterson has 2,321
- Riverbank has 2,142
- Oakdale has 1,481
- Newman has 1,071
- Waterford has 554
- Hughson has 511
- Supervisorial District 3 has 2,443
- District 5 has 2,269
- District 2 has 1,956
- District 1 has 1,092
- District 4 has 343
- San Joaquin County has 893 COVID-19-related deaths among 63,619 cases.
- Merced County has 362 deaths among 27,134 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 3,660 cases and 51 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 374 cases and five deaths.
As of Friday morning, there were 3,399,745 confirmed cases in California and 43,690 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 26,815,331 U.S. cases and 459,571 deaths.
Single-dose vaccine could be coming
Johnson and Johnson filed a request for Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for their COVID-19 vaccine developed at their Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies. If approved, this would become the third vaccine, but the only single-dose product, available in the U.S. to combat the coronavirus.
Another Modesto attraction returns
Anyone looking for outdoor family activities during the pandemic will have a new option soon, when Boomers Park in Modesto re-opens on Friday, Feb. 5.
Sutter Health expands vaccinations
Sutter Health on Thursday expanded its COVID-19 vaccinations to patients who are age 65 or older. It had previously limited coronavirus vaccine appointments to health workers and older seniors 75 and older.
Some Ceres students will return
Starting Feb. 16, Ceres Unified School District will bring back to campuses small cohorts of those seventh- through 12th-grade students struggling most with distance learning.
Modesto caps restaurant delivery fees
Modesto is temporarily capping how much Grubhub, DoorDash and other delivery services can charge restaurants to help them survive in the new coronavirus pandemic.
The latest on Stanislaus vaccinations
Federal, state and county leaders continue to work on ways of vaccinating the public against COVID-19, as coronavirus case numbers trend in the right direction.
One high school league issues schedule
With the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section announcing last week that each league is responsible for creating its sports schedules for the rest of the year, the Central California Athletic League released its on Tuesday.
Some schools balk at reopening money
The deadline has arrived for school districts to apply for the $2 billion in grants Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to set aside to help them safely return to in-person instruction. In Stanislaus County, though, not all districts are pursuing the funding, and even among some that are, there’s caution.
Modesto bus company preserves 400 jobs
Storer Coachways of Modesto had to cut about 400 of its employees when COVID-19 idled the tour bus business last spring. No problem. They are back at work in mobile testing and vaccinations against this very same virus.
How to cure Stanislaus’ ailing economy
Stanislaus County’s successful economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will depend on meeting vaccination and economic goals in the first few months of the year, according to a study from California State University, Stanislaus.
Denair arms parents with mental health resources
Denair Unified School District is piloting a program of teaching parents how to recognize and support mental health issues for their children, using videoconferencing with Dr. Neha Chaudhary, a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University.
From around the state, nation and world
The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday it will recommend fining travelers anywhere between $250 and $1,500 for failing to comply with President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring people to wear face masks while traveling via plane, bus and train, as well as in airports and rail stations.
Researchers from Denmark developed artificial intelligence that can determine whether a person will die from COVID-19 with up to 90% accuracy, according to a new study.
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
