Number of S.J. COVID cases surpasses Sacramento

The number of positive COVID-19 cases in San Joaquin County continues to spike, as more than 400 were reported by San Joaquin County Public Health services over the weekend.

As of Monday, the county had 2,400 confirmed COVID19 cases, surpassing the 2,243 reported by Sacramento County.

Daniel Kim, supervising public health educator with San Joaquin County Public Health Services, said the increase in positive cases has been through community transmission.

“What we’re seeing specifically is group gatherings in a public setting,” he said. “We’re also seeing businesses open up, and people are getting out more, It could be that people are relaxing their guard with regard to COVID-19. They’re not social distancing or not practicing proper hand hygiene.”

According to the COVID19 dashboard at www.sjcphs.

org, the county has seen 25 outbreaks of the virus, with 56% of them through community transmission. Skilled nursing facilities account for 32% of the outbreaks.

A surge of positive cases has been seen in Galt as well. Over the last seven days, the city of nearly 27,000 saw 35 positive cases reported by Sacramento County Public Health for a total of 60 since the pandemic began.

Last week, Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer, was contacted by the state, which requested a meeting to discuss the alarming increase of positive COVID-19 cases.

The county had been on the state’s COVID-19 watch list earlier this month for an

increase in hospitalizations, as well as a low number of available intensive care unit beds.

Placement on the list came just two weeks after the county was approved for attestation to move further long through Stage 2 of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s roadmap to recovery plan.

Last Thursday, the county was penalized for having an 8.2% rate of people testing positive, and having 83 positive cases per 400,000 people in 14 days.

As of Monday, there were 81 people in county hospitals being treated for COVID19. Since the pandemic began, there have been 118 positive cases of COVID-19 in Lodi.

Kim said Park has been in regular contact with the state over the last week, and so far, there has been no direction from Sacramento to begin closing sectors of the economy down again.

“Unfortunately, our numbers continue to go up and down, so we may be okay in one (benchmark) column one day, but not doing so well in another,” he said. “We have been watching these numbers closely, and Dr. Park has been great about slowing down reopening.”

Kim said that is why the county saw wineries reopen tasting rooms over the weekend, yet bars and family centers remain closed. Park believes those sectors and businesses pose the highest risk of transmitting COVID-19, he said, and it is uncertain when they will be able to open their doors again.

Another revised order, either allowing more businesses to open or demanding they close, may not be announced any time soon, he said. The San Joaquin Board of Supervisors will not receive an update from Park until June 30, as this week it is reviewing and approving the county budget, Kim said.

“We are looking very closely at the numbers,” Kim said. “We’re also looking closely at businesses taking their own initiative to reopen, even though they haven’t been given the okay to do so. It is a bit of concern, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to pinpoint one sector where community transmission has been the greatest.”

The county’s weekend surge comes as Adventist Health Lodi Memorial announced it would be temporarily suspending admissions of non-COVID-19 patients, due to several positive cases reported among its own staff.

On Saturday, the hospital announced that less than 30 team members had tested positive for the virus last week, with many showing no symptoms.

The hospital did not release specific numbers and declined to answer how many patients were currently being treated for COVID-19.

However, hospital officials did say that the positive cases reported are “from all different disciplines but mostly isolated to one unit,”

Hospital staff will be tested several times during the next two weeks to identify any potential additional positive tests, officials said.

“Our emergency department and clinics are open and able to care for patients during this time,” said Dr. Patricia Iris, medical officer of Adventist Health Lodi Memorial. “It’s critically important that community members continue to seek care when they need it, especially those who are feeling chest pain, experiencing stroke symptoms or having other serious concerns. Please, do not delay your care.”

In addition to the emergency room, the obstetrics and gynecology department will also remain open to serve expectant mothers.

Lodi Memorial’s labor and delivery and post-partum units are in separate areas of the hospital and only staff and physicians who work in those units have access, hospital officials said. Staff members in those units do not work in any other units.

Patients who don’t have COVID-19 and need hospital care will be admitted to Dameron Hospital in Stockton, which is managed by Adventist Health.

Existing patients were not transferred from Lodi Memorial and are being cared for in a separate unit of the hospital by nurses who are only caring for patients in that isolated area. Those nurses have all tested negative for COVID-19 and are not crossing over to any other unit, the hospital said.

“The safety and well-being of our nurses, associates, physicians and patients are our top priority,” Iris said. “Despite strict safety protocols, training and use of personal protective equipment, more of our staff began testing positive this week. As a result, we decided to test all associates working in the hospital to give us a more complete understanding of the spread.”

The hospital has been taking proactive measures to prevent the spread of COVID19 since the pandemic began, following the guidance of the state and local health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Iris said.

Currently, anyone entering the hospital or other clinical locations, including associates and physicians, are screened for COVID-19 symptoms before entry. Masks are required in all locations.

The Lodi and Dameron hospitals have been preparing for this type of surge since the pandemic began, said Daniel Wolcott, President of both hospitals.

“We are grateful and very appreciative to the entire Adventist Health team, who continue to go above and beyond to serve our communities with compassion and professionalism,” Wolcott said. “They are healthcare heroes in every sense of the word.”