Here’s where Sacramento County COVID-19 cases grew the fastest in August

Reported COVID-19 cases rose around 80 percent in Sacramento County during the past four weeks, continuing to hit several densely populated, economically disadvantaged areas the hardest, county data show.

There were about 18,000 reported COVID-19 cases in Sacramento County on Monday, up from about 10,000 four weeks prior. That’s the equivalent of about 50 new cases per 10,000 residents.

Among ZIP codes with at least 10,000 residents, the highest rates of new cases were in 95838 (Del Paso Heights), 95832 (Meadowview), 95823 (Parkway/Valley Hi) and 95824 (Lemon Hill).

The 95671 ZIP Code — home to Folsom State Prison — had, by far, the worst rate of new cases overall: More than 160 new reported cases among 2,700 prisoners, according to the county. The state has reported more than 300 COVID-19 cases at the prison, equivalent to more than one in ten prisoners.

The lowest rates of new cases among ZIP codes with at least 10,000 residents were found in 95630 (Folsom), 95819 (East Sacramento), 95662 (Orangevale) and 95628 (Fair Oaks).

Nine of the 15 ZIP codes in Sacramento County with the most new cases per capita also had poverty rates above 20%. None of the 15 ZIP codes with the fewest new cases per capita had poverty rates that high.

Some of the increase in COVID-19 cases is due to increased testing. The percentage of tests returned positive hovered around 7% to 9% in Sacramento County for most of the first week of August but had fallen to around 4% to 6% during most of the last week of the month, the latest county data show.

This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here’s where Sacramento County COVID-19 cases grew the fastest in August."