Coronavirus updates: 453,000 Californians infected, six new deaths in Sacramento County

The acceleration of the coronavirus in California has slowed slightly, but state and local health officials are still alarmed by the continued growth in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

On Sunday, California reported 8,259 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total now to more than 453,000 infections. Thus far, 8,416 have died from the virus in the state.

At least 6,900 people are in a hospital bed with COVID-19 and about 29% of them are receiving intensive care, according to state public health data released Sunday morning. The number of people hospitalized with the virus is likely higher than that, because historical data from 15 facilities was not included in the state’s daily release because of a reporting issue.

A majority of cases in California are among those 18 to 49 years old, about 60%. Black, Latino and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander residents make up a disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths compared to the overall population.

Hospitals are now bracing for the crush of patients in hot spots in Southern California and the Central Valley. Contact tracers struggle to keep up with the spread of infections. And business owners and parents face an uncertain summer and fall.

Latest Sacramento-area COVID-19 cases and deaths

Sacramento County reported six new deaths Monday, bringing the total number of fatalities due to COVID-19 to 114. The county also reported 115 new cases, increasing the new total of infections to 9,018. On Sunday, 267 new infections were reported. There are 239 patients with COVID-19 in hospitals, and 69 people with COVID-19 receiving intensive care.

Yolo County health officials have reported 1,424 cases and 37 deaths. On Monday, 37 new cases were added to the total. Sunday’s update added 53 additional cases. As of Sunday, there were 12 patients in county hospitals, five of whom were in ICU care. The county had three ICU beds remaining, according to state data. Yolo has seen outbreaks at several long-term care facilities, which account for 112 of the total number of cases and 20 deaths.

Woodland’s Stollwood Convalescent Hospital reported an outbreak in April and it is still the most severe outbreak in the county. There, 66 people connected to the facility have been infected with coronavirus and 17 have died. The facility will permanently close this fall.

At Alderson Convalescent Hospital, also in Woodland, 11 residents and nine staff members have been infected. Courtyard Healthcare Center in Davis has reported infections in six residents and four staff members.

Placer County has reported 1,685 cases and 15 deaths, including one on Monday, when the county added 37 confirmed infections. On Sunday, 43 more people were confirmed to have coronavirus. On Saturday, 46 new cases and a death were added. County officials reported a record-high day of infections on July 19, when 83 new cases were added, beating out the county’s previous record for highest daily infections from July 5, when 49 people were confirmed to have coronavirus. There are 60 people hospitalized in the county and 12 are being treated in ICUs. The county has 30 ICU beds available.

El Dorado County has reported 555 cases and one death from COVID-19. On Monday the county added 42 cases, a number which includes weekend confirmations. There are two confirmed cases in the ICU. El Dorado County, despite reporting its first death more than a week ago, remains the only county in the greater Sacramento area to have not been placed onto the state’s regional coronavirus watchlist, reflecting its relatively low number of cases.

Sutter County has reported a total of 647 cases and four deaths. The county added nine cases Sunday, a day after 22 new infections were reported. On Thursday, health officials added 35 more cases of coronavirus, tying a record for highest daily infections. Fifteen people are currently being hospitalized.

In neighboring Yuba County, 382 people have been infected and three have died. On Sunday 11 cases were added, a day after 16 infections were reported. On Tuesday, 20 people tested positive for coronavirus, which set a daily infection record. Eight people in Yuba County are currently being hospitalized.

California hospitals brace for shortage of supplies, beds, staff

Even as California’s hospitals come under unprecedented siege from a resurgent pandemic, hospital industry leaders this week warned that the state’s health care framework could still crack under threats to capacity that have been omnipresent since March.

Personal protective equipment and testing supplies remain in short supply. There may not be enough specially trained critical care personnel in areas with the worst outbreaks. The worst-hit counties will need beds at alternate care sites outside hospitals.

“Many people, when they think about capacity, they think about beds – literally, mattresses and pillows – and, of course, it is much more complex than that,” said Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association.

“Capacity is made up of not just space and beds,” she continued. “In fact, those are the easiest things to resolve. It is all about staff and personal protective equipment and testing, and unfortunately, all three of those things are in short supply.”

The soaring infection and hospitalization rates and the increasing demand for masks, gowns, shields and testing supplies not only have placed greater strain on supply chains but also on medical workers.

At St. Joseph’s in Stockton, staffers are on edge, said Faye Robinson, a behavioral health case manager and a representative for health care workers in the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.

“People are calling out sick,” she said. “I don’t think it’s that they’re always physically sick. They’re mentally sick. We don’t have mental health days. They’re taking time off because they’re mentally exhausted.”

COVID-19 spreading into more workplaces in Sacramento County

Sacramento’s ongoing coronavirus pandemic appears to be seeping increasingly into a new area – the workplace.

After weeks of virus infection increases stemming mainly from unsafe family gatherings, officials in Sacramento County and elsewhere say they are seeing new cases popping up at workplaces, including stores, restaurants, warehouses and agricultural areas.

That evolution creates a new challenge for Sacramento and makes it less likely that the economy will open up anytime soon.

“We don’t know if this is second generation infections, from family gatherings, where someone brings it into the workplace,” county health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson said on Friday. But, “It is progressing to businesses. Once it gets there, it is more widespread.”

A recent spate of employee infections has forced a handful of local restaurants and other businesses to shut down.

Speaking at a noon press conference Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom echoed the workplace concern, saying his health staff has heard from county health officers around the state about an uptick in work-related infections, and said the state will increase its oversight of businesses, with a focus on labor protections and safety practices.

Loss of a Sacramento icon: Robbie Waters dies from coronavirus

Robbie Waters, who served on the Sacramento City Council for 16 years after a long career in law enforcement, including one term as county sheriff, died in the pre-dawn hours Monday after recently testing positive for COVID-19.

A former lieutenant in the Sacramento Police Department, Waters had been in fragile health after he fell and broke his hip on June 30 in his Greenhaven home. While he was recovering from hip surgery, Waters’ family was informed that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

On July 20 Waters was admitted to the ICU at Sutter General Hospital and placed on a ventilator after experiencing difficulty breathing. His family had been told by doctors to hope for the best, but not to rule out the worst. Two of Waters’ three grown children and their spouses had returned to Sacramento from their Montana homes as the condition of their father worsened.

Waters was 84.

“It’s a great loss,” said Judie Waters, his wife of 60 years. “On his last day, he was struggling to breathe but he thanked the doctors. He thanked everyone ... Robbie was well loved but we also have to pray for the other people who are suffering with this horrible virus. People should be aware this could happen to everyone.”

A prominent figure in Sacramento for more than 40 years, Waters was a conservative in a liberal town who had friends across the political spectrum.

“Robbie and I came from different places in the political world but none of that mattered. I considered him a dear friend,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “He loved Sacramento and made a lifelong impact on our city.”

Testing delays thwart California COVID-19 contact tracing

A surge in COVID-19 cases and a shortage of contact tracers has for weeks hampered Sacramento County’s efforts to contact and warn people exposed to coronavirus. Now, an additional hurdle is inhibiting the county’s contact tracing: testing slowdowns.

Delays to get test appointments and longer waiting periods while labs turn around results mean cases land on investigators’ desks long after a person should have been told to start quarantining. In some cases, the county receives cases more than 14 days after a person was exposed, the period of time most people are thought to be infectious.

Across the state, officials and contact tracers in hard-hit counties report similar problems. Compounded by staffing shortages, the delays make contact tracing harder and less effective as the state fights to lower infection rates.

“It’s a story I’m hearing more and more,” said Brad Pollock, associate dean for Public Health Sciences at the UC Davis School of Medicine. “Timing is really critical. If you can’t get to these people in time ... it’s useless.”

Several contact tracers in hard-hit counties who asked not to be identified by name for fear of repercussions at their jobs told The Bee case assignments trickle in slowly, often days after a person has tested positive.

One tracer working for Los Angeles County said she’s only assigned about three new cases per day, most of which go straight to voicemail. Of the three cases she received Wednesday, two were past their isolation period. The third had died.

With cases doubling, El Dorado County nears state watchlist

For a month now, El Dorado County has been the only county in the Sacramento region that has avoided landing on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “watchlist” of counties that require tighter restrictions to fight the coronavirus.

Sacramento County was first to hit the list, followed by Yolo, Placer, Yuba and Sutter counties. In all, 36 California counties were on the list as of Saturday.

Now, with infections on the rise in El Dorado, county officials say they may be days from being added to the governor’s list, a step that would require more businesses to close and would likely force schools to keep doors closed when instruction starts in a few weeks.

The county notably has experienced just one death from the virus. But the number of cases has nearly doubled in the last two weeks alone and the percentage of El Dorado residents’ tests coming back positive for COVID-19 is twice what it was a month ago.

Can El Dorado steer clear of the state’s watchlist? The outcome likely depends on a touchy subject: will enough residents wear masks?

Newsom mandated masks be worn in public places statewide on June 18. President Donald Trump recently acknowledged their usefulness. But El Dorado County residents are divided. Some see mask orders as dubious assaults on their independence, others as a way to stay safe and show respect for others concerned about catching the virus.

How California parents will use ‘pandemic pods’ this fall

In the days after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced school closures across the state, thousands of parents began taking to social media to find like-minded parents with similar-aged children in their cities.

“Pandemic Pods,” where families pool resources to hire a teacher or another adult to monitor their children’s distance learning, were born. In them, groups of students, often between four to six children, learn in cohorts and are instructed or monitored by a credentialed teacher, tutor, parent or babysitter.

While the price to afford a teacher or adult supervisor is steep, many parents of the 250,000 school children in the Sacramento area have been forced to choose between the cost of providing a stable learning experience for their children and the ability to commit full days to their jobs. And with pandemic pods coming with a significant investment, the situation is highlighting the disparity in the resources available to parents.

For some – particularly single parents – the choice has come down to whether they quit their jobs or hire a part-time teacher.

Latest coronavirus numbers worldwide

Worldwide, nearly 16.4 million people have been infected with the coronavirus and almost 652,000 people have died as of Monday evening, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

The United States accounts for the largest share of infections for any country, with 4.2 million cases and over 147,000 deaths.

Brazil follows, with nearly 2.4 million infections and more than 87,000 deaths. India is third in cases at 1.4 million and sixth in deaths with more than 32,000. Nearly 46,000 have died in the United Kingdom, more than 44,000 in Mexico and over 35,000 in Italy.

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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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 people 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 July 27, 2020 at 8:36 AM.