Citrus Heights reports first coronavirus fatality; Sacramento County deaths up by 6

Citrus Heights reported its first death due to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, as Sacramento County’s overall death toll jumped up by six overnight.

County health officials were reporting 390 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Saturday, but by Sunday the number was up to 442, an increase of more than 50.

Sacramento County was reporting 10 dead Saturday, but on Sunday added six more to the list of those killed in the pandemic.

Citrus Heights was among the areas reporting a new death. Although the suburban city of nearly 90,000 accounts for a relatively small proportion of coronavirus cases in the county, with only 20 reported thus far, it is one of the first municipalities to see death.

Rancho Cordova, which has a slightly smaller population, has received 33 positive coronavirus tests, but no deaths.

Elk Grove, the county’s second-largest population center after Sacramento, accounts for three of the county’s deaths and 47 of its infected patients.

The unincorporated area of Sacramento County — which ranges in population density from rural to urban and varies greatly in terms of demographics — also reported its first death, though health officials did not specify where in the county the death occurred.

The city of Sacramento accounts for 246 cases of coronavirus and 10 deaths, and remains the largest vector of the virus.

County health officials maintain that all those who were killed by coronavirus were either above the age of 65 or had underlying health conditions. Elderly patients infected with the virus have a disproportionately high mortality rate compared with other age groups, such as children.

This story was originally published April 5, 2020 at 1:37 PM.