COVID-19 cases in S.J. County could be at plateau
STOCKTON — San Joaquin County health officials told the board of supervisors on Tuesday that the number of COVD-19 cases might be leveling off, or even declining.
However, the county’s case rate and positivity rate are still high, they said.
“We are coming out of the delta variant surge,” Dr. Maggie Park, the county’s public health official, said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“We’re still getting cases and we’re still worried about Labor Day and the affects from that holiday,” she said. “As you know, it does take a couple of weeks to see cases from Labor Day gatherings.”
The county’s new COVID-19 case rate was 35 per 100,000 residents Tuesday, down from 41 per 100,000 last week. It’s also a decrease from the peak of 49.9 per 100,000 the county experienced on Aug. 22.
The test positivity rate was 6.4% Tuesday, down from 7.3% last week and a high of 10.4% in early August during the surge.
“The decrease could be due to antigen tests that aren’t reported to us,” Park said. “Because of this, I do think we are seeing a plateau, if not a decline. But a plateau is better than seeing an increase in cases.”
In addition to a drop in case rates and positivity rates, the county is also seeing a decrease in hospital
izations from COVID-19, Park said.
At the peak of the delta surge, there were 301 people being treated for the virus in the county’s seven hospitals, according to the California Department of Public Health. As of Tuesday, there were 245 people being treated.
Park said there were 76 people in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. She said there should be substantial decreases at hospitals over the next week or so, although the county and surrounding agencies have been placed under a regional order due to having less than 10% ICU capacity.
As a result, patients who need to be treated at local hospitals are being sent to other facilities in regions like the Bay Area, she said.
Since the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy was discontinued in June, San Joaquin County Public Health Services was providing COVID-19 numbers on a weekly basis.
Park on Tuesday said those reports will now be released on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, providing case rate and positivity rate data, comorbidity rates and hospitalization data, among other categories.
Recently added is data that shows weekly cases by vaccination status as well as deaths by vaccination status. According to Monday’s report, 14% of weekly COVID-19 cases and 7% of deaths from the virus are among those who are fully vaccinated.
Currently, 355,707 eligible residents in the county, or 54.7%, are fully vaccinated. In Lodi, 34,431 residents, or 63.8%, are fully vaccinated, according to county public health.
There have been 90,730 confirmed cases of COVID19 and 1,581 deaths since the pandemic began in March of 2020.
There have been 6,303 cases and 168 deaths in the 95240 ZIP Code, which encompasses Lodi and Lockeford, including 83 new cases and two new deaths since Friday.
In Lodi’s 95242 ZIP Code, there have been 2,686 cases and 41 deaths, with 35 new cases since Friday, according to county public health.
There have been 622 cases and 12 deaths in the 95220 ZIP Code that includes Acampo, with eight new cases reported since Friday.
In Lockeford’s 95237 ZIP Code,, there have been 362 cases and six deaths. In Woodbridge’s 95258 ZIP Code, there have been 459 cases and eight deaths, with 10 new cases reported since Friday.