Coronavirus Update, March 21: Stanislaus County cases up as it awaits possible tier move
Case rates the last three days remained relatively high as Stanislaus County businesses await news on Tuesday if it can move into the state’s red tier, with more relaxed restrictions.
The county reported Saturday 95 more cases and, according to state figures, hovers at a little more than 100 cases per day over the last three.
Stanislaus County remains in the most restrictive purple tier of the state’s coronavirus plan, but its testing data in economically disadvantaged areas qualified the county last week to have a chance to move into red on Tuesday.
If the testing positivity rates hold for another week – the state Saturday showed the county trending slightly downward over the seven days – Stanislaus could move to red on Tuesday. That would allow relaxed restrictions on indoor restaurant dining and other business activities.
Schools, by virtue of a San Diego lawsuit that overrides tier restrictions, are planning to bring junior high and high school students as early as this week.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the county’s five hospitals reported 85 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, up from 80 on Saturday. The number of staffed adult intensive care unit beds remained at seven.
There were no reported deaths, leaving the total of county fatalities at 979. There have been 33 deaths reported in March, making it a virtual certainty there will be fewer than at least 118 since November, when there was a reported 27.
Stanislaus now has 52,033 positive tests, 489,330 negative test results and 50,410 people who are presumed recovered.
Vaccines: As of Friday, 154,260 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been allocated to Stanislaus County. This includes 77,177 doses to health care providers and 77,083 to public health.
In recent days, the county had vaccinated at a rate of about 285 residents per 1,000, which had it performing the best among the Central Valley counties from San Joaquin to Kern County to the south.
The public vaccination clinic is open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m at Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St. First doses of Pfizer will be given.
Here is next week’s schedule
- Monday, March 22: Keyes Community Center (mobile clinic), 5506 Jennie Ave., Keyes: 1st dose only, Moderna; 3-7 p.m. (or until supplies run out).
- Tuesday, March 23: Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St., Modesto; 1st dose only, Pfizer (please make appointment), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (or until supplies run out).
- Tuesday, March 23: Gladys L. Lemmons Senior Community Center, 450 East A St., Oakdale: 1st dose only, Moderna, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (no appointment necessary).
- Tuesday, March 23: Ceres Community Center (mobile clinic), 2701 4th St., Ceres: 1st dose only, Moderna (no appointment necessary), 9 am.-1 p.m. (or until supplies run out)
- Wednesday, March 24: Stanislaus State University, 1 University Circle, Turlock: 1st and 2nd dose, Pfizer (no appointment needed), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (or until supplies run out)
- Thursday, March 25: Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St., Modesto; 2nd dose only, Pfizer (no appointment necessary), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (or until supplies run out).
- Friday, March 26: Hammon Senior Center, 1033 W. Las Palmas Ave., Patterson: 1st dose Moderna (please make appointment), 2nd dose (no appointment necessary), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (or until supplies run out).
- Friday, March 26: Gladys L. Lemmons Senior Community Center, 450 East A St., Oakdale: 1st dose only, Moderna (please make appointment), 2nd dose (no appointment necessary), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (or until supplies run out).
- Saturday, March 27: Stanislaus State University, 1 University Circle, Turlock: 1st dose Pfizer (please make appointment),2nd dose Pfizer (no appointment necessary), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (or until supplies run out).
More information is on the county dashboard at http://schsa.org/coronavirus/vaccine/.
California has administered 14,276,125 vaccines as of Saturday, up from 13,882,984 on Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker. The state ranks 36th in the country, having administered 36,131 doses per 100,000 residents. New Mexico 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 Saturday:
- 53.6% are female
- 46.4% male
- 8.4% are 14 years or younger
- 16.3% 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 19,325 positive cases
- Turlock has 7,052
- Ceres has 5,337
- Patterson has 2,501
- Riverbank has 2,406
- Oakdale has 1,732
- Newman has 1,155
- Waterford has 627
- Hughson has 572
- Supervisorial District 3 has 2,717
- District 5 has 2,494
- District 2 has 2,161
- District 1 has 1,222
- District 4 has 411
Here’s a look at the numbers from nearby counties through Friday:
- San Joaquin County has 1,229 COVID-19-related deaths among 68,714 cases.
- Merced County has 428 deaths among 30,142 cases.
- Tuolumne County has 4,008 cases and 59 deaths.
- Mariposa County has 402 cases and seven deaths.
As of Sunday morning, there were 3,639,874 confirmed cases in California and 57,435 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were 29,784,199 U.S. cases and 541,918 deaths.
Modesto renters program has 1,100 applicants, seeking $9.8M
The program to help Modesto-area tenants behind in their rent and utilities due to the pandemic has just started but 1,100 households have already applied.
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.
This story was originally published March 21, 2021 at 6:16 AM.
