ICUs Remain Overwhelmed In San Joaquin, Stanislaus Counties
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13) — The coronavirus is showing some signs of slowing down in California, with the exception of the Central Valley, which is now the state's main hotspot.
San Joaquin county reported staggering 402 new cases Monday along with 12 new deaths. The county now has more than 11,885 infections.
Hospital ICUs in San Joaquin County are still overwhelmed, now operating at 135 percent of capacity, which is down about 14 percent from Friday. Total hospital capacity is at 75 percent, officials said. In Stanislaus County, ICUs are about 95 percent full.
A Travis Air Force Base medical team was deployed in San Joaquin County at Lodi Memorial Hosptial to help with the surge. The team consists of three doctors, one physician assistant, 11 nurses, two respiratory techs, two ICU techs, and two administrators.
Gov. Newsom said the state's strike teams are now taking the same approach in the Central Valley that they did in hard-hit Imperial County. That means, in some cases, moving patients to other parts of the state.
READ: Are Strike Teams A Success? State Points To Improvements In Imperial County
CHHS Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly says the state will have a hyper-focus on these eight hotspot counties but didn't specify exactly how the strike teams will be used.
"We believe in the next many weeks, with these efforts just like we did in Imperial County, and that strong partnership to reduce transmission rate, we expect these next four, six, eight weeks to focus on the Central Valley," Ghaly said last week.
Statewide, according to Newsom, the seven-day average of new cases is down more than 20 percent from the previous period. The two-week positivity rate is also dropping and now sits at 7 percent. It had been hovering around 7.5 percent.
