San Benito County Public Health officials report the number of new Covid-19 cases continue to come in at a steady pace, including two new deaths in their latest newsletter.
On Jan. 22, the county reported its 47th and 48th death of the novel coronavirus in San Benito County. These are the first deaths reported since Jan. 20 and the 19th fatality this month.
The county’s Covid-19 dashboard shows that there have been 5,101 confirmed cases and currently 509 active cases, and 59 new cases recorded as of Friday afternoon. It also shows that 15 people are hospitalized within the county, with six of those in the intensive care unit.
Confirmed cases include patients who have since recovered and those who are deceased. There’s been 29,911 tested for the novel coronavirus locally. Of these, 24,783 have tested negative and 4,544 patients have recovered.
The data from the Public Health Services’ latest community newsletter shows that of the 5,101 positive cases of Covid-19, 162 patients are in the 0-4 age group; 1,325 are in the 5-24 age group; 2,235 are in the 25-49; 971 patients are in the 50-64 age group; and 407 are age 64 or older.
The newsletter also shows that San Benito County remains in the most restricted purple “widespread” risk level as of Jan. 20. The county, according to state data, had a case rate of 126.1 daily new cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 17.4 percent for the week of Jan. 3-9.
These numbers are beyond the “widespread” risk level factors for each county, which is more than seven daily new cases per 100,000 residents, and a positivity rate of more than 8 percent.
The statewide data shows 105.4 daily new cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 15.2 percent for the week of Jan. 3-9.
At a minimum, counties must remain in a tier for at least three weeks before moving forward from the purple “widespread” tier to the red “substantial” tier after meeting the criteria of the less restrictive level for 14 consecutive days.
The limits for the “substantial” tier are no more than 4 to 7 daily new cases per 100,000 residents, and a positivity rate between 5-8 percent.
