COVID surge hits Lodi: Nursing home has 52 cases among patients, staff

Jun. 30--In the midst of a growing number of COVID-19 cases in San Joaquin County, a Lodi nursing center has reported a spike in new cases.

On Monday, Arbor Rehabilitation and Nursing Center reported that 36 residents and 16 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The facility called the outbreak a relatively new development that coincides with the spike of cases in Lodi and the surrounding area.

"We share this information because we believe it is important to everyone's health and well-being to keep our residents, families, staff and the public fully informed," the center said in a press release posted to its website.

While none of the staff members have required hospitalization, two of the residents have been hospitalized and two have passed away due to complications of the illness.

"On behalf of our entire community, we join their families in mourning the loss of their loved ones to this insidious virus," the news release said.

Arbor Rehabilitation is committed to regular facility-wide testing of residents and staff members, and is working closely with San Joaquin County Public Health Services and the state to address the outbreak.

For more information, visit www.tinyurl.com/arborupdate.

San Joaquin County and Lodi have seen a spike in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, including an outbreak at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial earlier this month that resulted in the hospital temporarily restricting access to non-COVID-19 patients, after dozens of staff members tested positive.

"Over the last two weeks we have seen the number of people admitted to the hospital in San Joaquin County more than double, and in Lodi we have more than a fivefold increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19," Daniel Wolcott, president and CEO of Lodi Memorial, said in a statement on Friday.

According to the City of Lodi, 29 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Lodi last Thursday.

Over the past 14 days, San Joaquin County has reported 1,153 new confirmed COVID-19 cases. That means that of the 3,291 total cases in the county throughout the pandemic, more than a third have come during the past two weeks.

On Monday, 129 COVID-19 were hospitalized in San Joaquin County -- including 25 at Lodi Memorial -- and there were an additional 31 suspected patients in the hospital, according to the California Department of Public Health. Thirty-four were in ICU beds, including five in Lodi.

As of Saturday, 262 total confirmed cases had been reported in Lodi's two ZIP codes, 95240 and 95242; this is up from 79 on June 15. Galt has had a total of 104 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up from 25 on June 15.

For additional data, visit www.sjcphs.org.

-- Scott Howell and K. Cathey

Governor orders bars closed in seven counties, including San Joaquin

On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered San Joaquin County and six others throughout the state to keep bars, breweries and brew pubs closed as COVID-19 cases continued to rise.

"Californians must remain vigilant against this virus," Newsom said in a statement. "COVID-19 is still circulating in California, and in some parts of the state, growing stronger. That's why it is critical we take this step."

San Joaquin County Public Health Services had not yet given the OK for bars or nightclubs located in the county to reopen, Lodi city spokesman Jeff Hood said.

However, some bars in Lodi have been operating in violation of the countywide order, he said. In mid-May, the Lodi City Council gave direction to the Lodi Police Department that the order should not be enforced. The council has supported Lodi police officers visiting non-compliant businesses to educate them about the spread of COVID-19, but indicated on May 20 that they would prefer the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office handle enforcement of the San Joaquin County Public Health Officer's order.

Counties where bars have been ordered to close or remain closed have been on the state's COVID-19 monitoring list for 14 days. In addition to San Joaquin, Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles and Tulare counties were included in the state's order. Like San Joaquin County, the health department in Imperial County had not yet approved reopening bars.

Newsom also recommended that bars be closed or not allowed to reopen in Sacramento County and seven others, but did not require it. Nonetheless, Sacramento County Public Health issued an order closing the county's bars on Monday.

Wineries and restaurants (including bars or breweries that serve food) were not included in the order, but Newsom asked them to continue following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, and asked them to encourage guests to order items for takeout rather than eating on the premises as much as possible. Wineries were allowed to reopen in San Joaquin County on June 19.

The governors of Texas and Florida also ordered bars closed in the face of rising COVID-19 cases. Texas has also limited restaurant capacity, and a number of restaurants in the state have shuttered temporarily.

To read the full order closing bars in some California counties, visit www.tinyurl.com/calbarclosures.

-- K. Cathey

Outreach project to decrease COVID-19 spread in Latino community

Adventist Health Lodi Memorial and several partners held an outreach and research event to decrease COVID-19 spread in the Hispanic population on Saturday.

More than a dozen volunteers conversed with Hispanic residents at First Baptist Church in Lodi to identify key issues that might be contributing to the dramatic increase in confirmed cases. Latinos comprise 37% of the population in Lodi, yet since June 1 account for 67% of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

On Monday, the data was analyzed and brainstorming activities with community leaders will help form an intervention plan that will be enacted July 4 weekend. If successful, the effort will move to Stockton.

Dr. Patricia Iris, market medical officer with Adventist Health Lodi Memorial, said about 75% of COVID-19 patients in Lodi Memorial are Latinos.

"It's serious," she said. "It can have severe consequences, so that's why it's so important to get the word out about how to prevent it."

After Memorial Day weekend, Iris said the numbers shot up. Hot spots have been identified near Cherokee Lane north of Kettleman Lane and northwest of that area south of Turner Road.

Access to health care and testing availability for working families are two of the issues the research team has learned thus far from those interviewed.

According to Chuck Davis, chief technology officer with Bayesiant, a private company that has developed the Population Health Insights Management System to enable governments and medical professionals to track the spread of the coronavirus, this is the first proactive outreach effort to mitigate COVID-19 spread in the country.

Inés Ruiz-Huston, vice president of special programs and operations with El Concilio, said it's important to uncover in a cultural context why COVID-19 is spreading so quickly in the Hispanic community.

"We know a lot of our families are essential workers, also our families' lack of transportation, a lot of our families are car pooling," she said. "We are a passionate community; we are a loving community; we want to be close to our families."

And because of that, Ruiz-Huston said the virus is spreading.

The research and outreach project is a collaboration of Adventist Health Lodi Memorial, El Concilio, San Joaquin County Public Health Services, Bayesiant, First Baptist Church of Lodi, Bear Creek Community Church, The Better Lab and Emergency Design Collective.

For information or to take part in the confidential research survey, call Lodi Memorial at 209-334-3411 or El Concilio at 209-644-2600. These phone numbers are to participate in the survey only. To find out about COVID-19 testing, visit LHI.care to make an appointment for free testing at the Lodi Public Library, or Project Baseline, which offers testing in French Camp.

-- Stockton Record

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