Coronavirus updates: Sacramento County infections surpass 10,000; capital region deaths at 200
The total number of infections in Sacramento County surpassed 10,000 Saturday, as California also broke a major milestone with more than a half-million total cases.
Public health officials in Sacramento County reported 196 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, bringing its total to 10,016. The same day, nine new deaths were reported — six of which according to the California Department of Public Health occurred on Friday — marking 142 total fatalities from COVID-19 in the capital region’s largest county. The fatalities represent a 21% increase from the number of deaths two weeks ago.
The deaths also brought the number of fatalities in the four-county capital region to 200.
According to data from state health officials updated Saturday, 500,130 people have been infected across the state, a 33% increase over the 14-day average. Data from Johns Hopkins University, which differs slightly, indicates that more than 501,000 Californians have been infected.
California is one of the leading sites of infection in the world. Last week, the state surpassed East Coast epicenters such as New York and Florida, which have long been major vectors of infection.
Florida currently has seen nearly 480,000 infections and just over 7,000 deaths, while New York state has seen 415,000 infections and 32,000 deaths.
State health officials reported the deadliest single day of deaths since the start of the pandemic on Friday with 219 people succumbing to complications from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 9,224, according to the CDPH.
In the last week, statewide deaths have increased by 22%, still rising quite predictably after several weeks of rapid infection. The rate of infection, however, appears to have been slowing down in recent days.
The average number of infections reported per day has gone up 12% in the last week, according to the CDPH, although the infection rate still remains higher than it was in May or June. The positivity rate, simply the fraction of tests that come back positive, was 6.5% over the past seven days, a decrease from 7.3% over the 14-day period.
At the local level, trends seem to be generally in line with those at the state level. Sacramento County, like California, has begun to stabilize after spikes in infections and hospitalizations.
Data from the CDPH shows that the total number of infections in Sacramento County has risen by 50% in the past two weeks, and deaths have risen in the same time by 40%. However, the average number of daily reported infections has gone down by 35% in the past week. Still, daily infections commonly hit triple digits, significantly higher than those in May and early June.
State data shows that 265 Sacramento County residents are currently hospitalized and 90 are in intensive care units. In the past two weeks, hospitalizations in the county have increased by 35%. There are 79 ICU beds still available for the county’s roughly 1.5 million residents.
Statewide, 6,459 people with lab-tested cases of coronavirus are currently hospitalized. Of those, 1,966 patients are being treated in ICUs. In the past two weeks, California hospitalizations have gone down by 6%.
Yolo County health officials have reported a total of 1,544 cases and 42 deaths. On Saturday, 34 new cases were reported and one death was added to the tally. There are currently six patients in county hospitals, all of whom are in ICUs. The county has five ICU beds remaining, according to state data. The county has seen outbreaks at several long-term care facilities, which account for 118 of the total number of cases and 21 of the 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.
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 seven residents and four staff members.
Placer County has reported 1,912 cases and 15 deaths. On Saturday, 36 new cases were reported and on Friday, 54 more people were confirmed to have coronavirus. 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 14 are being treated in ICUs. The county has 31 ICU beds available.
El Dorado County has reported a total of 637 cases and just one death from COVID-19. On Friday, 24 new cases were reported by county health officials. There are currently two people in county hospitals and one person being treated in an ICU. The county has 14 ICU beds available. El Dorado County, despite reporting its first death last month, 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 768 cases and six deaths. On Friday, health officials added 13 new cases of coronavirus, and earlier this week added two additional deaths. Ten people are currently being hospitalized. County health officials reported one of the highest single-day infections on Tuesday, adding 34 more confirmed cases to the total. The last record was set on July 23, when 35 infections were reported.
In neighboring Yuba County, 471 people have been infected and four have died. On Friday, six new cases were added. On Wednesday, 26 people tested positive for coronavirus, which set a daily infection record, and one death was reported. Eight people in Yuba County are currently being hospitalized.
Worldwide, more than 17.6 million people have been infected with the coronavirus and over 680,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States accounts for the largest share of infections for any one country, with 4.5 million cases and 153,000 deaths. Brazil is the next leading nation, with just over 2.6 million infections and 92,000 deaths. India has reported nearly 1.7 million total infections and 36,000 deaths.
California’s deadline on eviction ban approaching
Housing evictions have been put on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the fraught economic landscape that came with it, as thousands of Californians have lost their jobs and more apply for unemployment benefits every day.
But this month, that could change. The Judicial Council of California is considering ending its the emergency protections that were previously put in place for renters, a change that could take effect by Aug. 14.
In response, California Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed local jurisdictions to ban evictions until Sept. 30, and the state Legislature is considering several bills which include provisions for an extended eviction moratorium.
About 7% of California renters couldn’t pay their rent in full in July, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey, and 3.8 million tenants said they had little or no confidence in their ability to make next month’s payments.
A national eviction moratorium on properties with federally-guaranteed mortgages expired on July 24, leaving individual states to act on their own.
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 August 1, 2020 at 11:58 AM.