15 new cases of coronavirus reported in Sacramento County
Thirty-two people in Sacramento County have now been afflicted with the coronavirus, county health officials disclosed on Sunday morning, a near tripling in the last six days.
That is up from 17 cases previously reported on Thursday, and 11 cases on Monday. One of them is a woman at an Elk Grove assisted living home who died on Tuesday and a second resident of the facility. County officials declined to release details on the new cases.
County officials, by policy, have declined to offer details on the cases. Officials are citing patient confidentiality in declining to disclose details. County officials said most of the cases are “community spread,” meaning they were contracted by contact with others in the county, not via travel or contact with someone who recently traveled.
The first case of the virus in Sacramento occurred on Feb. 19, when a seriously ill woman was transported from Solano County to the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for treatment.
That woman, who was reported in improved condition on Wednesday in the hospital, does not appear to be linked to the subsequent cases in the county. All UC Davis Medical Center employees who interacted with her were tested and those tests showed none had contracted the virus.
On Monday, however, amid controversy over the shutdown of the Elk Grove Unified School District this week, health officials disclosed that one elementary school student in that district had tested positive for the virus. That young person was reported to be in good shape earlier this week in quarantine at home.
Officials said two other individuals in that same household also had contracted the virus.
Elk Grove senior facility
Meanwhile, a second resident at the Carlton Senior Living in Elk Grove has tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The resident is being isolated in his or her apartment at the facility, separated from other residents, and is being monitored 24/7, the facility wrote in an email to family members and in a blog post Sunday.
The facility is issuing a public health order to its roughly 140 residents directing them to stay in their apartments to prevent the spread of the virus, the memo said. The facility has also put in place “rigorous measures” to prevent staff transmission.
Last week, a woman in her 90s who had been living at the facility was the first person to die from the virus in Sacramento County.
“We understand that everyone would like to know where this started, who the resident is and how the infection developed,” the memo said. “As you know, it is our responsibility to protect the privacy of all our residents.
California coronavirus cases
Although the official county number now is 32, epidemiologists suggest that the true number could be much higher than that. Many people who contract the virus do not get sick. Others feel ill, but not sick enough to see doctors.
Statewide in California, there are 368 cases as of Sunday morning, a near doubling of the 179 known cases on Thursday of people sick with the virus, according to a tracking database at Johns Hopkins University.
California has the third largest number of cases among states in the United States, behind Washington and New York.
That number as well is likely far lower than the true number. The tracker has registered four deaths in the state. A fifth was reported in Los Angeles on Thursday. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a sixth during a news conference Sunday.
National, state and local officials have raced in the last week to shut down major events and gatherings in hopes of quelling the spread of the virus. In most cases, officials are asking groups to cancel events with more than 250 expected participants.
County health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson has warned residents to expect more cases. How many more, he said, is a “crap shoot.” Officials hope that by reducing the number of large gatherings and by asking sick people to stay home, they can reduce the speed and size of the virus transmission here and elsewhere.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 10:35 AM.