Coronavirus updates: Sacramento ZIP code epicenter of virus, weather tempts against isolation

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread through communities across the nation, Sacramento County health officials have identified a new hotspot.

ZIP code 95817, which represents North Oak Park and parts of the Tahoe Park and Elmhurst neighborhoods, has emerged as an epicenter of COVID-19 cases in the county.

The ZIP code has a high per-capita rate of infection, with a population of 13,461 and 71 confirmed cases of coronavirus. That means 52.7 people out of 10,000 have tested positive.

Neighboring ZIP code 95816, which is comprised of parts of midtown and East Sacramento, has a per-capita rate of just 3.7 cases per 10,000 people despite having a higher population.

Although the ZIP code includes the UC Davis Medical Center, county health officials told The Sacramento Bee that the hospital isn’t the source of the high numbers — they actually stem from several congregate care facilities, a term which is used to refer to nursing homes, senior care centers, memory care facilities, group homes and drug or alcohol treatment facilities.

Sacramento County Officials have not released the names of the three facilities that account for the unusually high figures, citing patient confidentiality concerns.

Coronavirus by the numbers

The novel coronavirus has infected 2.8 million people across the globe, killing nearly 200,000 since the outbreak began in late 2019, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has maintained the largest cluster of COVID-19 patients, accounting for nearly a third of the total confirmed cases with 919,000 positive test results as of Saturday.

A quarter of the world’s deaths have occurred in the United States, with 52,000 casualties reported in the country due to the virus. Almost 100,000 Americans have recovered after being infected with the virus.

Spain has reported more than 220,000 cases, while Italy has reported more than 195,000.

New York state has more cases than many sovereign nations, with 282,000 patients testing positive. 21,000 people have died in New York.

California, meanwhile, has reported just over 41,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,621 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

As of Saturday morning, Sacramento County health officials were reporting 1,025 cases of coronavirus and 41 deaths. The county broke 1,000 Friday, but no new deaths have been reported since the five that were disclosed Thursday.

Thursday was deemed the “deadliest day” by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said during a daily news conference that at least 115 people died across the state within a 24-hour window.

Placer County is reporting 139 cases, most of which have been reported out of southern tip of the county, which includes Roseville, and eight deaths overall.

Yolo County reported 158 cases and 13 deaths as of Saturday, while El Dorado County reported 42 cases and no deaths.

Newsom warns warmer weather could mean a resurgence

Sacramento got a little taste of summer this week, seeing 90-degree weather for the first time this year on Friday afternoon — but marring California’s sunny disposition is a grim possibility. The National Weather Service said that Friday’s high of 93 degrees broke the previous record of 90 set one year ago and 2013. It was also the city’s first 90-degree day of the year.

Newsom predicted on Thursday that the warmer weather may incline Californians eager to leave home toward recreation in the great outdoors.

“We’re walking into a very warm weekend. That means people are prone to want to go to the beaches, parks, playgrounds and go on a hike,” Newsom said. “And I anticipate there will be significant increase in volume, but I also think if there is, and people aren’t practicing physical distancing, I’ll be announcing, in a week or so, these numbers going back up. I don’t think anybody wants to hear that. I don’t want to share that information, but that’s really less up to me and up to all of you.”

Most parks and beaches in the state are closed due to the virus, although some in Ventura and Orange counties in Southern California are open.

The Sacramento Valley is expected to see clear skies this weekend, with highs reaching the low 90s, although temperatures may taper off through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Next week is no reprieve, however, as Tuesday and Wednesday may see record-high temperatures.

The heat is a reflection of California’s recently-amended drought status, updated Thursday to include much of Sacramento County and areas to the west under a severe drought designation by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Areas to the east, including most of Placer and El Dorado counties, were said to be abnormally dry.

Roseville seeks local control as economy falters

Roseville is the latest and largest Northern California municipality seeking autonomy over lockdown conditions as the local economy suffers.

Roseville Mayor John B. Allard II sent a letter to the Placer County Board of Supervisors and the county’s top health official Thursday, asking that they appeal to Gov. Newsom for local control.

Allard argued that the city has significantly flattened the curve of infection, though the economic impact of response measures continues to batter local businesses.

“It cannot be overemphasized that many elements of our economy are nearing a point of irretrievable loss,” Allard wrote in the letter. “We must now include a focus on the long-term damage that response has created.”

Placerville City Council and the Sutter County Board of Supervisors recently made a similar pleas for local control to Newsom.

What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?

Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.

This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 11:18 AM.