Coronavirus update, March 11: Where does Stanislaus stand on anniversary of first cases?
One year ago today, Stanislaus County announced its first two cases of COVID-19. At the time, no one could imagine that the total would top 50,000, and that 960 residents would die.
A third case followed on March 16, 2020, prompting county officials to put the Office of Emergency Services on high alert. March 19 brought a stay-home order from Gov. Gavin Newsom that devastated many businesses and turned many parents into home-schoolers.
One of the county’s first two cases was a man who had been stuck on a quarantined Princess Cruise from Mexico. Details on the other man were not known in that first Modesto Bee story.
Stanislaus cases built relatively slowly at first, to 10,000 on Aug. 10 and 20,000 on Nov. 21. They then surged to 30,000 by Dec. 21, to 40,000 by Jan. 13 and to 50,000 by Feb. 24. The total stands at 51,399 with the 100 positive tests added Wednesday.
The county announced its first death to COVID-19 on April 10. The toll now is 960 with the one added Wednesday. January was the worst month by far, with 212 residents lost to the pandemic.
That story a year ago noted that the two positive tests came from a total of 24 administered to Stanislaus residents. Total tests reached 520,776 as of Wednesday, an astounding effort by health workers in their now-familiar masks and gowns.
A year ago, no one knew when vaccines might be approved and start to control the virus. They finally emerged in late 2020 but could take much of 2021 to reach everyone.
The Bee launched its daily Coronavirus Update about this time last year. Here is the other data as of Wednesday from the county Health Services Agency and other sources:
Hospital cases: The five hospitals reported 95 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, up from 92 on Tuesday. The count has stayed under 100 for 12 straight days and is far below the 300-plus in early January. The hospitals had nine staffed intensive-care beds available to adults Wednesday, unchanged from Tuesday.
Infection rates: The single-day infection rate was 10.26%, up from 3.11% the previous day, according to the state website. The rolling seven-day rate was 6.57%, up from 6.41%. The 14-day rate was 6.47%, down from 6.6%.
According to the Los Angeles Times COVID-19 tracker, Stanislaus County has the fifth highest rate of infection per 100,000 residents in the last week among the state’s 58 counties. Its rate of death also is 31st highest. Since the pandemic’s start, its infection rate remains 15th highest and the death rate fourth highest among all California counties.
Stanislaus remains in the purple tier, meaning the virus is “widespread,” following the state’s reassessment of conditions Tuesday. It seeks to reach red, orange and finally yellow, with few limits on business and gatherings.
(The Pandemic and You: Take our survey: Click here)
Vaccines: As of Wednesday, 91,800 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been allocated to Stanislaus County. This includes 43,335 doses to health care providers and 48,465 to public health.
The public clinic schedule for the rest of this week:
Thursday, Modesto: First and second dose, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St.
Friday, Modesto: First and second dose, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St.
Friday, Oakdale: First and second dose, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Gladys L. Lemmons Senior Community Center, 450 East A St.
Saturday, Turlock: First dose only, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Geer Road entrance to Stanislaus State University
More information is on the county dashboard at http://schsa.org/coronavirus/vaccine/.
California has administered 11,062,505 vaccines as of Wednesday, up from 10,805,474 on Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker. The state ranks 40th in the country, having administered 27,998 doses per 100,000 residents. Alaska ranks first, Georgia 50th among the states.
It’s important to note that if you’ve had part or full vaccination, wearing a mask and keeping with all the safety precautions like social distancing is still recommended by the Centers for Disease for Control and Prevention. Also, those who have had COVID-19 still need to be vaccinated.
Case demographics: Here are the breakdowns of the positive tests in Stanislaus County as of Wednesday:
- 53.5% are female
- 46.5% male
- 8.3% are 14 years or younger
- 16.4% are ages 15 to 24
- 19.3% are 25 to 34
- 17.1% 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.
Places of residence were not updated. As of Wednesday:
- Modesto has 18,952 positive cases
- Turlock has 6,942
- Ceres has 5,264
- Patterson has 2,452
- Riverbank has 2,381
- Oakdale has 1,681
- Newman has 1,146
- Waterford has 619
- Hughson has 565
- Supervisorial District 3 has 2,670
- District 5 has 2,461
- District 2 has 2,131
- District 1 has 1,197
- District 4 has 393
Here’s a look at the numbers from nearby counties through Wednesday:
- San Joaquin County has 1,208 COVID-19-related deaths among 67,754 cases.
- Merced County has 417 deaths among 29,643 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 3,986 cases and 59 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 396 cases and seven deaths.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 3,611,295 confirmed cases in California and 54,890 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 29,155,047 U.S. cases and 529,267 deaths.
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It’s been a year since Stanislaus County CA announced its first positive coronavirus test result. The Modesto Bee would like to hear from readers about the last year. Click here to take our quick survey.
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From around the state, nation and world
The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan with $1,400 stimulus checks on Wednesday, clearing the way for the legislation to become law.
The COVID-19 stimulus bill expected to be signed into law in the coming days includes a Child Tax Credit expansion that experts say could lift millions of children out of poverty.
After California officials said amusement parks could reopen starting April 1, Disneyland is pushing its reopening date back. It closed last March as the coronavirus began to spread and has stayed closed ever since.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 5:22 AM.
