As cases of COVID-19 continue to grow in California and six more counties were added to the monitoring list, state officials are ramping up efforts to make sure that businesses are complying with the mandatory mask order and closures.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state deployed a multi-agency enforcement team that made contact with more than 440,000 businesses in the state between July 2-5. The contacts were made either in person or through emails and phone calls and were to educate business owners and managers on the current public health orders.
Additionally, Alcohol Beverage Control made contact with just under 6,000 businesses to ensure they were in compliance with the orders. Other state agencies contacted more than 300 barbers, hair stylists, manicurists, massage therapists, tattoo artists and other such licensees to make sure they were in compliance.
On July 1, Newsom and the California Department of Public Health ordered counties on the monitoring list for three consecutive days or more to close indoor operations for certain sectors which promote the mixing of populations beyond households and make adherence to physical distancing and wearing face coverings difficult. In addition, all brewpubs, breweries, bars and pubs in these counties must close immediately, both indoor and outdoor. Restaurants that are doing outdoor dining service can only serve alcohol if it is accompanying a meal.
During the Tuesday briefing, Newsom reiterated that all businesses that are open are required to have their staff and customers wear face masks and that face mask signage should be posted. He also said businesses need to implement measures to social distance and have the occupancy limits posted.
Currently, California has 277,774 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than 6,000 cases recorded on Monday, according to the CDPH. California's positivity rate – a key indicator of community spread – is trending upward in the 14-day average. Hospitalization rates are also trending upward in the 14-day average. There have been 6,448 COVID-19 deaths in the state since the start of the pandemic.
Initially, 19 counties in the state were being monitored because of a rise in cases and the positivity rate. On Tuesday, the number had grown to 23, with Madera, Monterey, Colusa and Merced joining the list. Stanislaus County was one of the original 19 counties.
Stanislaus County currently has 2,889 COVID-19 cases, with 419 presumed active. One week prior, the county had 2,255 cases. In the last 24 hours the county recorded 129 new cases. The death toll stands at 45.
As the number of cases has grown locally, so has the mode of transmission. Contact spread from one person to another accounts for 60.99 percent of the cases. Community transmission, which had been down in the 20s, is now at 37.9 percent. Community transmission means there is no known exposure source.
There are currently 206 county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 and of those 46 are in ICU, according to the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency.
Hospital bed availability is at 37 percent in the county and 31 percent for ICU beds. The ventilator supply has 74 percent availability.
Those in the age groups of 51 to 60 years make up the largest group of hospitalizations in Stanislaus, accounting for 20 percent of the total. The age group of 61 to 70 years follows them at 19 percent of the total.
The age group with the most positive cases are those between 21 to 30 years, at 20 percent, followed by 31 to 40 years at 19 percent and 41 to 50 years at 17 percent.
The age group experiencing the most deaths is among those 65 years and older, which account for 88.9 percent of all the deaths in the county.