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County Coronavirus Cases Now Nearing 10,000 Level
corona

As students in many Stanislaus County school districts get ready to return to classes – through distance learning – the number of positive coronavirus cases continues to rise.

As of late Monday afternoon, Aug. 3, county Public Health officials reported there have been 9,277 positive cases in Stanislaus County and 126 deaths.

The county’s Public Health Department, in fact, reported 10 additional COVID-19 related deaths on Monday that were discovered during an audit with the Coroner’s office. Officials said the deaths occurred between the end of May 2020 through the end of July 2020. All deaths have to be reported to the Coroner’s Office but they are not required to be reported to Public Health.

“To prevent this from happening in the future, Public Health will conduct weekly audits with the Coroner’s Office to ensure that the deaths associated with COVID-19 corroborate with the positive test results,” officials noted in a statement. “Our condolences goes out to those who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19.”

While the deaths have risen to 126, officials also released figures that show there have been 8,374 recovered cases and a total of 52,146 negative tests.

For those that fear they may have COVID-19, there are sites available for testing; the county lists them as OptumServe in office testing in Turlock and Modesto, as well as Project Baseline by Verily: offering drive through testing in Salida.

Social distancing protocols remain in place, residents are asked to wear face coverings when out in public, and schools are preparing for students and teachers to begin with a distance learning platform to start the year.

“I have worked closely with School Superintendents throughout the COVID-19 emergency to inform their planning and help guide the actions of independent school districts. Much of this work is included in a report entitled “Stanislaus County 2020-2021 – School Year Planning: A Guide to Address the Challenges of COVID-19.” This report and other reference materials are readily available through the Stanislaus County Office of Education at www.stancoe.org,” said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, Stanislaus County Public Health Officer. “I have not issued any local orders or guidance at this time that place any further restrictions on school opening beyond the requirements established by the California Department of Public Health. All of the work I have done with school districts suggests they are well informed of the guidelines and doing everything they can to support the public health of our community.”