San Joaquin COVID-19 Cases Continue to Fall
February 23, 2021 at 3:56 pm
A few counties moved from purple to red this week, but most of the state, including San Joaquin, remains in the purple.
Data from covid19.ca.gov
COVID-19 cases in San Joaquin County continue to fall, with the county reaching a 6.6% test positivity rate this week. It also reported 17.1 new daily cases per 100,000 people and a health equity metric of 8.7%.
Last week, San Joaquin had a positivity rate of 7.8%, a daily case rate of 25.1, and a health equity metric of 10.3%. However, the county is still in the purple tier, the most restrictive in California’s coronavirus reopening system.
To move down to the next tier, the red, San Joaquin must have a daily case rate below seven per 100,000 people and a health equity metric under 8%. Its positivity rate is already under the 8% threshold for the red.
The county is also making progress in its vaccine distribution. Roughly 72,000 people have received at least one shot, with 27,500 having received two doses. A total of 99,500 vaccines have been given out.
However, San Joaquin is lagging behind the rest of the state in that respect. According to the Los Angeles Times, 13.9% of Californians have received at least one dose. In contrast, only 9.4% of people in San Joaquin have gotten at least one shot.
Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced on Monday that the state will expand access to vaccines in the Central Valley. The state will be partnering with counties and health care organization OptumServe to open 11 vaccination sites in the region in the next few weeks. Vaccine allocations to the Valley will be increased by 58%, with an additional 34,000 doses going to food and agricultural workers.
San Joaquin also began vaccinating teachers and school employees last Friday using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Schools can begin to reopen once the county has been in the red tier for five days. Currently, only a few districts are conducting in-person classes.
Restaurants and gyms will also be able to resume indoor operations if San Joaquin moves to the red tier, and retailers can expand from 25% to 50% capacity. However, churches and places of worship will not be able to open up further until lower tiers.
A series of counties, including Yolo, Marin, and San Mateo made the jump from purple to red this week. However, 96% of California’s population is still in the purple tier, and only two counties (Sierra and Alpine, the two smallest in the state) have made it to the orange.
