Stanislaus County’s coronavirus infection rate is still close to the highest in state
Stanislaus County didn’t make much progress toward looser coronavirus regulations in a state update Tuesday.
Its daily case rate went in the wrong direction. The county will remain under red tier restrictions for the seventh consecutive week.
As of Tuesday, a dozen counties in California remain in the red tier of the state’s color-coded blueprint that imposes regulations to control the spread of COVID-19 illness. A total of 39 counties have made it to the less restrictive orange tier, indicating moderate transmission of the virus, and seven counties are in the least restrictive yellow category.
The county’s adjusted daily case rate was 10.8 per 100,000, up from 9.3 per 100,000 the previous week. The higher transmission is in the state’s highly restrictive purple tier range, but Stanislaus again qualified for the red tier because of test positivity data of 3.9 percent countywide and 4.5 percent in underserved communities.
Counties must show a significant decline in coronavirus transmission for two straight weeks before moving to a less restrictive tier. As long as the pandemic remains in check in California, the state plans to scrap the color-coded tier system June 15 and fully reopen the economy, while keeping some safety measures in effect.
Stanislaus is under red tier limits that are the second most restrictive in California, capping retail stores at 50 percent capacity and indoor restaurants at 25 percent. Fitness centers are capped at 10 percent capacity; indoor bars are supposed to be closed and conferences are limited to 100 participants who show proof of vaccination.
According to a state dashboard updated daily, Stanislaus County’s 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases is 12 per 100,000 population, which is tied for the third highest in California.
Stanislaus County health officials said in a briefing last week the county was adding 50 to 70 new cases of COVID-19 per day. The percentage of local tests coming back positive is about three times higher than the 1.2 percent statewide.
To qualify for the state’s orange tier, and its lighter restrictions on businesses, the county needs a daily case rate of 5.9 per 100,000 or less, while keeping the positive test rates at the current level. Another way to reach the orange tier is posting test positivity results below 2.2 percent, combined with a stable daily case rate.
In Tuesday’s update, San Joaquin and Merced counties continued to meet the qualifications for red tier status with daily case rates of 8.9 and 8.2 per 100,000, respectively.
Los Angeles and San Francisco joined the ranks of counties in the yellow tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, denoting “minimal” spread of the coronavirus among residents.
In the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, Kings, Mariposa and Tulare counties remained in the orange tier of the state blueprint, indicating that COVID-19 continues to spread at a “moderate” pace in the community. Madera County stayed put in the red tier.
The Fresno Bee contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 1:53 PM.
