Coronavirus updates: 466,000 Californians infected, big outbreaks in Central Valley

Though the rate of new infections has slowed slightly compared to that in late June and early July, certain parts of California are experiencing surges that have local and state officials on high alert.

California reported 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday morning, bringing the state total now to more than 466,000 infections, according to the latest state public health data. Thus far, 8,518 have died from the virus in the state.

As of Tuesday, an average of 99 people died from the virus in California every day over the last two weeks. Two weeks ago, about 77 people died every day on average over a two-week period.

For the last two weeks, the positivity rate — the portion of tests returning positive — has remained around 7.5%. The World Health Organizations suggests a rate of lower than 5% before reopening the economy, and California puts individual counties on notice when they hit 8% or higher.

At least 6,896 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 Tuesday morning. The number of people hospitalized with the virus is likely higher than that, because historical data from some 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.

More than two weeks ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced sweeping shutdowns across the state on businesses and schools to slow the record-breaking number of infections and hospitalizations.

That announcement joined a host of existing restrictions in the state meant to curtail the spread: Californians are prohibited from non-essential gatherings, and are strongly encouraged not to travel long distances from home to avoid the spread of the virus. Other state mandates, like requiring masks in public, are also still in effect.

The slowed growth of the virus in California may be correlated with those new shutdowns, though county officials up and down the state are alarmed by a potential surge in hospitalizations coming over the next few days and weeks.

Coronavirus ‘strike teams’ headed to COVID-19 hot spots in Central Valley

Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending three coronavirus strike teams and $52 million in federal money to California’s Central Valley as the region battles a spike in COVID-19 cases.

The region is seeing the virus spread particularly among Latinos, essential workers and people who live in group settings like jails and nursing homes. The state will have a “laser-like focus” on stemming spread among those groups, Newsom said.

The funding from a federal grant will help bolster testing in eight counties that make up the Central Valley, as well as pay for more supplies and additional support for the medical system, Newsom said during a news conference in Stockton.

The Newsom administration is also deploying so-called strike teams in the Central Valley, just like the state did in hard-hit Imperial County. The teams will include administration officials and community groups who work to stem the spread of the coronavirus, Newsom said.

The rate at which people are testing positive for the coronavirus varies from county to county in the Central Valley, with Fresno over 10.7% and Tulare over 17.7%, Newsom said. The statewide positivity rate is around 7.5%.

In some parts of the Valley, transmission rates are escalating at a concerning rate, said Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. Some hospitals in the region are overwhelmed, with two-thirds of some ICUs filled with COVID-19 patients, he said.

Over the past two weeks, intensive care units in Stanislaus County reached full capacity, Air Force medical staff reinforced a Lodi hospital overwhelmed by the outbreak, and members of the National Guard were assigned to a Fresno nursing home that faced a staffing shortage.

Sacramento’s Aftershock Festival canceled

Aftershock Music Festival in Sacramento has been postponed by one full year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Danny Wimmer Presents, which organizes the annual hard rock concert series, had held out hope Aftershock could become the area’s “first post-COVID festival to happen” by proceeding with the sold-out event this year, Oct. 9-11, at Discovery Park.

“We waited as long as we could but, unfortunately, the recent spike of cases now requires that we reschedule this year’s sold-out Aftershock to 2021,” the announcement said.

The 2021 Aftershock Music Festival will be expanded to four days rather than three, and is now set for Oct. 7-10, still at Discovery Park.

Metallica and My Chemical Romance, who’d been confirmed as headliners for the 2020 show, are still slated to headline the 2021 event.

Other popular musical festivals in Northern California have also announced cancelations this year because of the pandemic, including Napa Valley’s annual BottleRock Festival and Outside Lands.

Amid pandemic, food delivery apps are vital but problematic for some local restaurants

Third-party delivery apps have become vital for many Sacramento-area customers throughout the coronavirus pandemic. They’re also particularly grating to some local restaurateurs, especially those who never agreed to be boxed in.

Several high-profile local restaurant owners are speaking out against apps such as GrubHub, DoorDash and Postmates. Many of the complaints involve the apps’ dubious practice of listing restaurants without the owners’ knowledge or consent, often with outdated menus.

In theory, third-party delivery apps seem like a near-perfect vessel for this era. They offer a way to financially support struggling businesses while getting a meal one can’t prepare at home and minimizing coronavirus exposure and spread.

Yet the apps have issues. During the pandemic, there’s an ethical conundrum about some people being unwilling to leave the house for food yet counting on largely low-income drivers to risk coronavirus exposure by picking it up for them.

More broadly, third-party apps regularly eat into restaurants’ thin margins with commissions of up to 35% per order in addition to the delivery fees leveraged against customers.

“For us to survive in this current environment, there’s certain things we have to do, and Caviar taking these fees is just not feasible for us,” said Binchoyaki co-owner Toki Sawada.

Third RT bus driver tests positive for COVID-19

The Sacramento Regional Transit District announced Monday that one of its bus drivers has tested positive for COVID-19, the district’s third who has become infected with the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

RT officials said they were alerting July 16 and 17 riders on Jibe Express, Rancho CordoVan and Bus Route 33 of the driver’s diagnosis “out of an abundance of caution,” according to announcement on the district’s web site and its social media accounts.

This bus driver, who was self-isolating and expected to make a full recovery, has not been at work or driven a RT vehicle since July 17, RT officials said. They also said the driver wore a mask and the person’s temperature was checked before the start of each shift.

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.

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.”

Latest Sacramento-area COVID-19 cases and deaths

The six-county region of Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Sutter and Yuba has seen 14,312 cases of the coronavirus as of Tuesday morning. The virus has killed a total of 185 in the region.

Sacramento County reported 400 new cases Tuesday morning — the highest single-day increase in cases reported since the start of the pandemic. Those new cases represent infections that occurred on various days over the last week or two, but weren’t verified until Monday. The new total of infections in the county is now 9,418. The death toll in the county is currently 121, after officials reported out seven new fatalities. At least 253 patients with COVID-19 are in hospitals, and 81 of those people are receiving intensive care.

Yolo County health officials have reported 1,446 cases and 39 deaths. On Tuesday, Yolo County reported 23 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths due to the virus. The county reported 37 new cases Monday and 53 new cases Sunday. As of Monday, there were 13 patients in hospitals in Yolo County, six of whom were in ICU care. The county had four ICU beds remaining, according to state data. Yolo has seen outbreaks at several long-term care facilities, which account for 118 of the total number of cases and 21 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.

And at Woodland Residential Services, which operate residential care facilities for people with developmental disabilities, four people have been killed by the virus thus far, according to county data released this week.

Placer County has reported 1,753 cases and 15 deaths, including 68 more infections reported Tuesday. County officials reported a record-high day of infections on July 19, when 83 new cases were added. There are 56 people hospitalized in the county because of the virus and 14 are being treated in ICUs. The county has no adult ICU beds available.

El Dorado County has reported a total of 579 cases and one death from COVID-19. On Tuesday afternoon, the county reported 24 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths. The county on Monday added 42 cases to its total, a number which included weekend confirmations. Three infected people in the county were hospitalized Tuesday; two of them in intensive care. 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 701 COVID-19 cases and six deaths due to the virus. The county added 34 more cases to its total Tuesday night, just shy of its daily record-high 35 new cases reported July 23 and July 10. But the county reported no new deaths Tuesday. Nine infected people in the county were hospitalized Tuesday, seven of them were in intensive care. The county reported 24 new cases and two new deaths Monday.

Yuba County has reported a total of 415 COVID-19 cases and three deaths due to the virus. On Tuesday night, the county reported 17 new cases but no new deaths. The county reported 15 new cases Monday, 11 new cases Sunday and 16 new cases Saturday. Six infected people in the county were hospitalized Monday; none of them were in intensive care.

Latest coronavirus numbers worldwide

Worldwide, more than 16.6 million people have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 657,000 people have died as of Tuesday afternoon, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

The United States accounts for the largest share of infections for any country, with over 4.3 million cases and over 149,000 deaths.

Brazil follows, with more than 2.4 million infections and over 87,000 deaths. India is third in cases at 1.4 million and sixth in deaths with more than 33,000. 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 28, 2020 at 8:23 AM.