Coronavirus update, Feb. 20: Stanislaus has big drop in hospital cases. Vaccines slow
Hospitals in Stanislaus County had 25 fewer COVID-19 patients Friday than the day before, another cautiously hopeful sign that the pandemic is easing.
The county Health Services Agency reported five more deaths, for a total of 921 since last spring.
The 132 new positive tests Friday raised the total to 49,482. Stanislaus also has 434,694 negative test results and 47,176 people who are presumed recovered.
The single-day positive rate was 8.24%, down from the previous day’s 11.87%, according to state data. The seven-day rolling rate was 7.93%, down from 8.47%. The 14-day rate was 8.75%, down from 9.09%.
According to the Los Angeles Times COVID-19 tracker, Stanislaus County has the eighth-highest rate of infection per 100,000 residents in the last week among the state’s 58 counties. Its rate of death if 15th highest. Since the pandemic’s start, its infection rate is 15th highest and death rate fourth highest.
The county’s five hospitals reported 127 patients with confirmed coronavirus cases Friday, down from 152 on Thursday. The count has stayed under 200 for two weeks. It was well over 300 at the worst of the winter surge in early January. The number of staffed adult ICU beds was at 10, down from 13.
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, 77,310 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been allocated to Stanislaus County, up from 55,550 on Thursday. This includes 36,135 doses to health care providers and 41,175 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.
Despite that increase, the county has postponed next week’s community clinics because cold weather elsewhere slowed shipment of the Moderna vaccine. More information is on the county dashboard at http://schsa.org/coronavirus/vaccine/.
California has administered 6,964,603 vaccines as of Friday, up from 6,496,140 on Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker. The state ranks 32nd in the country, having administered 17,626 doses per 100,000 residents. Alaska ranks first, Alabama 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
- 8.2% are 14 years or younger
- 16.4% are ages 15 to 24
- 19.4% are 25 to 34
- 17.2% 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 18,192 positive cases
- Turlock has 6,690
- Ceres has 5,069
- Patterson has 2,402
- Riverbank has 2,291
- Oakdale has 1,594
- Newman has 1,112
- Waterford has 592
- Hughson has 540
- Supervisorial District 3 has 2,555
- District 5 has 2,358
- District 2 has 2,069
- District 1 has 1,155
- District 4 has 369
- San Joaquin County has 1,026 COVID-19-related deaths among 65,891 cases.
- Merced County has 388 deaths among 28,489 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 3,870 cases and 56 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 389 cases and seven deaths.
As of Saturday morning, there were 3,521,225 confirmed cases in California and 48,236 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 28,006,474 U.S. cases and 495,814 deaths.
Cold weather elsewhere slows vaccines here
A continued shortage of COVID vaccine went from bad to worse Friday as Stanislaus County postponed additional community vaccine clinics until further notice.
The latest on high school football
High school football took a huge step in returning to California on Friday as the state’s Department of Public Health released new guidelines. Unfortunately, Stanislaus County doesn’t meet this criteria.
What you need to know about vaccines, COVID-19
The Modesto Bee’s ChrisAnna Mink, our children’s health reporter who also is a doctor in Southern California, was the guest on a podcast hosted by Jeffrey Lewis, CEO of the Turlock-based Legacy Health Endowment. Mink shared great updated information on all things COVID-19. If you have a few minutes, it’s worth a listen. Click here.
Harder hears Waterford school concerns
Approaching one year since schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Waterford educators and parents got a chance to share with their congressman this week these and other experiences, concerns and successes.
Back to school in March sounds good if done right
Remaining weeks in the spring semester using the hybrid learning model — two days in school, three learning from home — should be viewed as a trial transition period for the fall for Stanislaus County.
Girl Scout cookies have landed. How they’ll be sold this year
Girl Scout cookie season could not escape the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the biggest impact was that cookie booths shut down a week earlier than scheduled. But for this year, Girl Scouts of the USA has adapted its sales methods to keep girls and their families and customers safe while still serving up their iconic snacks.
How you might be eligible for more stimulus money
Did your income drop in 2020? Have a baby? You could be eligible for more economic stimulus money from Washington – quickly.
Stanislaus County middle, high schools aim for March reopening
A meeting of superintendents for school districts across Stanislaus County on Friday included a discussion of a timeline to reopen middle and high schools by the middle of March.
How to get help for your small business in Stanislaus County
As business struggle to stay afloat, local groups like the Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center and Stanislaus County Workforce Development are helping guide small business owners through the variety of federal and state programs available at no cost.
From around the state, nation and world
Fewer than 7,000 people reported having side effects from COVID-19 vaccines after the first 13.7 million doses were administered in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
A San Jose gym has closed after being fined nearly $1 million for defying coronavirus orders. California Ripped Fitness said in an email obtained by KTVU that the gym “had no choice but to close” and blamed a “court order.”
A priest has died after a San Francisco Catholic church was forced to close due to a coronavirus outbreak. The Rev. Bob Stein died on Tuesday, about a week after he and other members of Saints Peter and Paul Church tested positive for COVID-19.
This story was originally published February 20, 2021 at 4:31 AM.
