Coronavirus updates: 2 more Sacramento County deaths; WHO warns pandemic is worsening
Sacramento County’s coronavirus death toll has reached 61 after two new deaths were reported Monday morning by local public health officials.
One of the deaths came in the city of Sacramento and the other in Rancho Cordova, according to the county’s online dashboard for COVID-19, the disease caused by the highly contagious virus.
The county infection total is also quickly approaching 1,600, as 19 more lab-confirmed cases were added to the tally in Monday’s daily update for a new total of 1,588. The public health office estimates 1,251 of those cases are “likely recovered,” leaving approximately 236 active cases once accounting for the deceased.
Sacramento County reported three deaths last week: two Monday and one Friday.
The three most recent known fatalities — by date of death, not the date of the county’s reporting — happened May 25, May 26 and last Thursday, according to the dashboard. Prior to those, the county had not had a coronavirus death since May 13.
Of the 61 fatalities, 29 have come in the capital city, eight in Citrus Heights, seven in Rancho Cordova, three in Elk Grove, three in Folsom and 11 in unincorporated Sacramento County.
The city of Sacramento accounts for about one-third of the county’s 1.5 million residents, but as of Monday made up nearly 900 of the roughly 1,600 confirmed infections. Concentrations of COVID-19 are typically higher in urban areas, which are more densely populated than rural or suburban places.
Sacramento County is grappling with rising infection totals, after a dip in new cases around early May: the first nine days of that month each saw 10 or fewer new infections documented by health officials. In nearly a month since then, all but five days have seen a double-digit increase in total cases.
While increased testing availability may account for some of that growth, hospitalizations for confirmed COVID-19 cases are also increasing quickly in the county.
The state Department of Public Health, which now maintains hospitalization data both statewide and at the county level, in its most recent update said Sacramento County had 35 confirmed COVID-19-positive patients hospitalized on Saturday and 33 on Sunday, up from 19 and 28 on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
The ICU rate is also increasing considerably — from two such patients on May 25 to a total of 15 as of Saturday, according to the state. Sacramento County’s hospitalization dashboard has been consistent with the state’s graphs, but is only updated Tuesdays and Thursdays.
California’s COVID-19 numbers: Nearly 130,000 infected, 4,600 dead
Statewide, public health officials have recorded close to 129,000 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the highly contagious virus, and at least 4,626 associated deaths, according to a Sunday update by the state Department of Public Health.
Nearly 2,800 cases were added in Sunday’s update, after back-to-back days of more than 3,000 new infections being reported.
More than 2,600 total deaths to date and over 62,000 infections have come in Los Angeles County, which makes up about one-quarter of California’s 40 million residents.
The state’s daily death toll has held fairly steady over the past several days — 75 fatalities reported last Tuesday, 61 on Wednesday, 63 on Thursday, 74 on Friday and 67 on Saturday, according to charts on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard last updated Sunday. The highest single-day death toll, 115, came April 22; more than 100 were also reported each of May 18 and May 19.
California reports that it has conducted more than 2.35 million diagnostic tests for COVID-19 to date, performing an average of more than 50,000 per day over the past month and nearly 54,000 between Friday and Saturday. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s has referenced a goal of testing 60,000 daily.
Meanwhile, counties have been given more leeway in loosening Newsom’s statewide stay-at-home order, which has been in place since March 19.
After most counties were allowed to reopen restaurants’ dining rooms, in-store retail, office spaces and more over the course of May — all with sets of guidelines for social distancing and sanitation measures designed to limit the spread of the virus — Newsom announced last week that starting this Friday, the 51 counties with approved reopening plans may begin to allow the modified reopening of some Phase 3 businesses.
That includes bars, gyms, card rooms, hotels, campgrounds, zoos and museums; it does not yet include movie theaters or stage theaters, nail salons, tattoo parlors, theme parks, nightclubs or higher education.
World COVID-19 numbers: More than 7 million infected, WHO says pandemic worsening
The World Health Organization warned Monday that the global pandemic is worsening, after the number of new daily cases worldwide hit a new high Sunday.
More than 7 million people worldwide have been been infected by the virus, and more than 405,000 have been killed, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Nearly 2 million of those infected globally are from the United States. The virus has killed nearly 111,000 in the U.S., more than any other country.
After the United States, Brazil (more than 691,000) and Russia (over 476,000) top infection numbers globally. The United Kingdom has the second-highest death toll in the world, now well over 40,000.
Latest in Sacramento region: No new deaths in El Dorado, Placer, Yolo
The rest of four-county Sacramento region — El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties — has seen more modest changes to COVID-19 activity in recent days. None of those three reported new fatalities last week, and El Dorado County continues to have no reported coronavirus deaths.
El Dorado County public health officials report 109 total confirmed cases Monday afternoon, with three new positive cases reported over the weekend. Two people are currently hospitalized and in intensive care. Nearly half the confirmed cases, at 60, have come in the Lake Tahoe region.
Placer County has seen a recent surge in cases, now reporting 294 infections, last updated 10:45 a.m. Monday with the addition of 10 new cases. Of the 294, nine have died, 102 are active cases and 183 have likely recovered. Eleven lab-positive patients are currently in the hospital, with three in the ICU, each marking a decrease by one over the previous day.
Yolo County reported two new cases of the coronavirus Monday afternoon, bringing the total number of cases there to 225. There were no new deaths reported Monday. So far, 24 people have died in the county, 17 of which have been connected to Stollwood Convalescent Hospital in Woodland.
The county’s dashboard, last updated Sunday, does not estimate how many cases are active or likely recovered. It notes that a total of 45 in the county have ever been hospitalized for COVID-19, but does not specify how many may currently be in the hospital. However, a different part of the dashboard says that the highest hospitalization total over any of the past 14 days is three.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 11:12 AM.
