Coronavirus update, March 19: Stanislaus gets back on track with just 28 new cases
Thursday brought just 28 new cases of COVID-19 to Stanislaus County, well below the rate that could help get the pandemic under control.
Two deaths were announced for a third straight day by the county Health Services Agency. The total now stands at 978 residents since last spring.
New positive tests must average 55 or fewer per day as part of the formula for easing state restrictions on business and gatherings. The county had 91 on Wednesday and 42 and 43 the previous two days.
Stanislaus now has a total of 51,867 positive tests, 484,908 negative test results and 50,209 people who are presumed recovered.
Other details:
Hospital cases: The county’s five hospitals had 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, down from 100 on Wednesday. The winter count got as low as 78 on March 6 and topped 300 in early January. Staffed intensive-care beds available to adults were at 10, down from 13.
Positive rates: On the state dashboard Thursday, where numbers reflect the previous day, the county had a 12.54% positive rate, up from 8.04% the day before. The rolling seven-day rate was 6.22%, up from 6.01%. The 14-day rate was 6.55%, up from 6.27%.
According to the Los Angeles Times daily tracker showed, the county is 12th, down from sixth, among the 58 counties when it comes to new cases over the past seven days. It ranks 13th in deaths over the past seven days.
Vaccines: As of Thursday, 154,260 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been allocated to Stanislaus County, up from 121,870 on Wednesday. This includes 77,177 doses to health care providers and 77,083 to public health.
The public vaccination clinic schedule for the rest of this week:
▪ Friday, Turlock: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Geer Road entrance to Stanislaus State University. Single doses of Johnson & Johnson.
▪ Friday, Patterson: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Hammon Senior Center, 1003 W. Las Palmas Ave. First doses of Moderna.
▪ Friday, Oakdale: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Gladys Lemmons Senior Center, 450 East A St. First and second doses of Moderna.
▪ Saturday, Modesto: 9 a.m.-5 p.m, Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St. First doses of Pfizer.
More information is on the county dashboard at http://schsa.org/coronavirus/vaccine/.
California has administered 13,563,094 vaccines as of Thursday, up from 13,161,027 on Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker. The state ranks 35th in the country, having administered 34,326 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 Thursday:
- 53.6% are female
- 46.4% male
- 8.4% are 14 years or younger
- 16.4% are ages 15 to 24
- 19.3% are 25 to 34
- 17.2% are 35 to 44
- 14.8% are 45 to 54
- 12.1% 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 19,234 positive cases
- Turlock has 7,023
- Ceres has 5,316
- Patterson has 2,492
- Riverbank has 2,401
- Oakdale has 1,715
- Newman has 1,146
- Waterford has 627
- Hughson has 572
- Supervisorial District 3 has 2,697
- District 5 has 2,481
- District 2 has 2,158
- District 1 has 1,214
- District 4 has 409
Here’s a look at the numbers from nearby counties through Thursday:
- San Joaquin County has 1,216 COVID-19-related deaths among 68,551 cases.
- Merced County has 428 deaths among 30,087 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 4,006 cases and 59 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 400 cases and seven deaths.
As of Friday morning, there were 3,631,320 confirmed cases in California and 56,987 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 29,608,162 U.S. cases and 538,093 deaths.
One district could open grades 7-12 on Monday
The Turlock Unified School District announced on its Facebook page Thursday that because of a lawsuit, it is able to bring back junior high and high school students to campuses beginning Monday. And districts statewide appear to have the same opportunity.
New variant of virus reaches Stanislaus
The first known case of what is usually called the “U.K.” variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Stanislaus County, health officials said Thursday.
Duarte Nursery workers get vaccines
Duarte Nursery provided COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of its workers Wednesday and is opening its Hughson quarters to nearby employers this week.
Second Harvest rebrands amid pandemic
Manteca-based Second Harvest has a new name but the same mission: feeding the hungry throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley and surrounding foothills, a task that remains critical in the pandemic.
County board appeals to Newsom on schools
Stanislaus County supervisors approved sending a letter asking Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to prioritize reopening of schools that were closed by the battle against coronavirus.
Movie theaters hope to have patrons back soon
Movie theaters in the Modesto area are preparing for an eventual re-opening once local COVID-19 restrictions loosen again across Stanislaus County.
Biz Beat: What’s up with Manteca water park?
More than a year ago, we all donned hard hats with fuzzy ears and walked through what we thought would be a soon-to-open Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca.
Stanislaus might be days away from red tier
Stanislaus County remains in the most restrictive tier of the state’s coronavirus plan, but its testing data in economically disadvantaged areas qualified the county for a jump from the purple tier to red possibly a week from now.
Editorial: We’re almost there, people
Stanislaus is among 11 counties still stuck in California’s purple COVID cellar. But we’re on the cusp of qualifying for an upgrade to the less-restrictive red tier — if and only if our virus numbers next week stay about where they are right now.
MCS elementary students take big step
Children at Modesto City Schools elementary campuses got to see the faces (albeit masked) of a lot more friends Monday as cohorts were combined, giving kids four days of in-person learning instead of two.
See how paycheck program helped locally
With loans ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few million, the Paycheck Protection Program has given out a total of more than $832 million to Stanislaus County businesses, according to the Small Business Administration.
Economist: Job outlook could brighten
Stanislaus County saw only a modest decline in unemployment in January, but new federal stimulus dollars and increased vaccine availability point to stronger recovery in the coming months.
Bee readers reflect on year of COVID
The Bee asked readers to reflect on the year and how the pandemic has affected their daily lives. A sampling of responses is below.
From around the state, nation and world
Last December, during the biggest known COVID-19 workplace outbreak in Fresno County, public health officials said they were investigating Foster Farms’ chicken processing plant in southeast Fresno.
A Burbank restaurant has removed its doors after a court signed off on padlocking the bar’s entrance because the business was accused of defying coronavirus orders.
Months after developing COVID-19, many people continue to suffer debilitating symptoms such as fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, depression and “brain fog.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 6:12 AM.
