New COVID-19 hospital cases put Sacramento back on state ‘watch list’ as July 4 looms
Sacramento County hospitals have seen a sudden rise in COVID-19 patients in the last few weeks, causing some local concern and landing the county on the California health department’s coronavirus “watch list” on Thursday.
Ten Sacramento County hospitals report they were treating 61 virus patients, the highest number in two months, and up substantially from just seven patients a month ago.
That surge has come as the county and much of the state reopened restaurants, bars, nail salons, barbers, some offices and other public sites over the past month, and as more extended families reportedly have gathered in homes for social events against state guidance.
The county’s health chief said hospitalizations remain small for a large county of more than 1 million people, and that local hospitals have more than 800 beds at the ready.
“Our surge capacity is still completely there,” county health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson said. “This is more on the warning side that we need to get on top of what we doing.”
Kaiser Permanente Northern California officials in an email to The Sacramento Bee confirm their hospitals are seeing more COVID-19 patients in the last week, but they said they have been preparing for that increase and far more as the state and counties began reopening businesses since early May.
“The recent increase in cases throughout California is a reminder that the virus is still active in our communities,” said Stephen Parodi, associate executive director of the Permanente Medical Group. “Our facilities and staff are ready to respond to a surge and safely and expertly treat patients with the virus.”
“While we wait for a vaccine, we need to embrace these public health actions that focus on social distancing measures including maintaining 6 feet of distance and using masks to protect each other. Following these measures is crucial now and in the future.”
UC Davis Medical Center officials say they are seeing an increase, but are handling it.
“Because we’ve been preparing for more than four months for an eventual rise in cases, we are continuing to meet the needs of all patients,” spokesman Edwin Garcia said in an email Thursday. That includes “robust protocols and procedures ... to keep COVID-19 patients, and those suspected of having the virus, away from other patients.”
California puts 15 counties on ‘watch list’
California as a whole has seen increased hospital admissions for the virus this month. A month ago, there were 3,000 Californians in hospitals with COVID-19, a level that held steady in the weeks leading up to the initial reopenings of restaurants and stores.
As of Thursday, that number had topped 4,200 with another 1,300 patients suspected of having COVID-19. Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week the state is closely monitoring hospitalizations, but has been prepared for an increase in cases, and has 50,000 “surge” beds available for worst-case scenarios.
Nevertheless, the increased from seven to 50 patients in Sacramento triggered the state Department of Public Health to place Sacramento on its watch list or “targeted engagement” list. There are 15 counties on the list. State officials said they are advising those counties on how to get a better handle on the virus spread.
Both state and county officials said the main concern in Sacramento are infections stemming from large family gatherings in homes. Those involve birthday and graduation parties, as well as funerals and some church-related activities, Beilenson said.
With the July 4 holiday approaching, county officials are advising people to limit their socializing to small groups, outdoors only, with social distancing and masks, and no shared food.
Sacramento has seen a notable increase in recent weeks in cases among Latinos, prompting county officials earlier this week to increase efforts to get educational materials out in a variety of languages to various ethnic groups.
Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra and a group of community-based organizations this week launched an effort to persuade local and state officials to provide public service agencies with masks that they can distribute to lower-income families.
Beilenson said he does not believe the recent spike in cases and hospitalizations will result in closing down any sectors of economy.
“In general, businesses are behaving quite well,” he said. “I don’t see (us) really going backward at this point.”
Beilenson said he does have concerns however about what may happen if more people gather in close quarters in bars. One midtown bar just closed because a customer tested positive.
The main key at the moment, though, will be whether families avoid large gatherings, he said, and whether or not people and businesses continue to adhere to the state mandate to wear masks in public settings.
Editor’s note: This story was first published on Thursday, June 25, when county hospitals reported 50 COVID-19 patients. It was updated Friday morning when new data showed patient numbers had increased to 61.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 1:32 PM.