Stanislaus County sees a sharp increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations
Updated case and hospitalization data Tuesday showed a rising tide of COVID-19 illness in Stanislaus County.
The county Health Services Agency reported 64 new cases and a daily case rate of 8.1 per 100,000, which is almost double the rate recorded July 1.
Local hospitals had 67 patients stricken by COVID, a 72 percent increase over a week ago. Eighteen patients were requiring intensive care.
County health officials said the highly infectious Delta variant is driving the new wave of transmission, plus the county has a large unvaccinated population that is vulnerable.
“Potentially, the numbers (will keep going up) but we are hoping with more vaccinations those numbers won’t be increasing,” said Elizabeth McCuistion, a county spokesperson.
About 45 percent of eligible county residents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Anyone 12 or older is eligible for the vaccine.
The county is seeing cases of people who came down with symptoms and tested positive after attending July Fourth parties, staff said this week.
Hospitals are now starting to feel the impact of the recent spike, though the numbers are far below the 300-plus COVID admissions during the holidays and the summer 2020 surge.
This week, county health officials recommended mask-wearing in indoor public settings for seniors 65 or older and people with risk factors for COVID-19, even if they are vaccinated.
A county press release said other vaccinated people may want to wear masks in stores and other public places as an added layer of protection. The state requires face masks for unvaccinated people while indoors and in crowded outdoor locations.
Stanislaus County staff said this week they didn’t have a grasp on whether vaccinated people are coming down with COVID infections. Vaccination status is not one of the screening questions asked at testing sites.
In nearby San Joaquin County, hospitalizations have more than doubled since July 1, and the case rate has climbed from 4.9 per 100,000 in early July to 8 per 100,000 this week.
Because of rapid spread of the Delta strain, San Joaquin County on Tuesday strongly encouraged fully vaccinated residents to wear a mask indoors as an extra precaution. The southern section of the county includes Ripon, Manteca and Escalon.
“We know fully vaccinated people are well protected even from the Delta variant and are unlikely to experience severe disease, but they can still get and transmit COVID,” county Public Health Officer Maggie Park said in a news release.
Park said the county was recommending masks for everyone in grocery stores, shops and theaters out of an abundance of caution.
The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency has a weekly schedule of free COVID vaccine clinics at www.schsa.org.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 7:03 AM.
