COVID cases are rising, but hospital numbers still low

The number of COVID19 cases continue to rise as San Joaquin County begins to see a surge from the latest variant of the virus.

San Joaquin County Public Health Services on Monday said 303 new cases were reported over the weekend, increasing the new case rate to 7.4 per 100,000 residents. The case rate was 5.3 per 100,000 on May 2.

The county’s test positivity rate has also increased over the last week from 3.2% reported May 2 to 4.2% on Monday.

Conversely, hospitalizations have dropped during that time, with eight reported in the county’s seven facilities as of Monday. On May 2, there were 14 people being treated.

The surge comes as experts from Johns Hopkins University report that cases rose threefold across the country in the last several weeks, compared to a 25% increase in hospitaliztions from the virus, according to www.webmed.com.

Dr. David Dowdy, associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, told WebMD that he expected death rates to rise as well, as they typically follow hospitalization rates by a week.

He said COVID-19 still kills an average of 300 Americans per day.

In San Joaquin County, only five deaths from the virus were reported between May 6 and 9, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 2,230.

Of the 303 cases reported over the weekend, 12 were in Lodi. There have been 169,281 cases since the pandemic began in March of 2020.

Lodi has seen a total of 14,306 cases and 251 deaths.

There have been 1,210 cases and 18 deaths in the 95220 ZIP code that includes Acampo, and 121 cases and one death in the 95227 ZIP code that includes Clements.

Twelve deaths and 844 cases have been in the 95258 ZIP code that includes Woodbridge. In the Lockeford area, which includes both the 95240 and 95237 ZIP codes, there have been

2,405 cases and 37 deaths, with three new cases reported over the weekend.

Some 64.6% of the county’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 13.3% remain partially vaccinated. In Lodi, 74.3% of the population is fully vaccinated and 14.6% are partially vaccinated.

County public health reported that 26.9% of those vaccinated have received booster shots, while 32% have yet to receive one. Another 7.7% are fully vaccinated, but are ineligible to receive a booster.

Sacramento County Public Health reported on Wednesday that there have been 286,596 cases and 3,159 deaths since the start of the pandemic, with 1,997 new cases and four new deaths reported.

There have been 6,932 cases and 77 deaths in Galt, while 63% of the city’s population is fully vaccinated.

Countywide, 66.3% of the population is fully vaccinated and 71.2% are partially vaccinated.