Sentinel staff report–
The Sacramento County Public Health department on Thursday reported a total of four deaths related to COVID-19 have now occurred in Citrus Heights, out of a total of 51 confirmed cases of the disease.
A week ago, April 16, there were a total of 47 cases of COVID-19 and two related deaths. As of April 23, there have now been 987 cases and 41 COVID-related deaths, with cases up by about 12 percent compared to the prior week.
All deaths in Citrus Heights and Sacramento County “are among those age 65 and older, had underlying conditions, and/or had other risk factors,” according to the county’s health department.
The latest figures are reported in an interactive mapping tool published by the Sacramento County Public Health department. The map breaks down cases by zip code, with slightly more confirmed cases showing up in the eastern half of the city in the 95610 zip code, compared to the 95621 zip code, which covers the western portion of the city.
The majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases are within the 18 to 49 age group, with a total of 428 cases reported. There are 301 cases among those age 65 and up, and 245 cases involving those age 50 to 64. There have only been 13 cases reported among those under 18 years of age in Sacramento County.
County health officials have extended a stay-at-home health order through May 1, but calls for an immediate re-opening of the economy have been growing as many workers and businesses continue to suffer economic losses.
Protests of shutdowns have been occurring around the state and Citrus Heights City Councilman Bret Daniels on Facebook last week called for opening up the economy “with reasonable safety precautions while those at-risk should remain at home until at-home testing and a vaccine is offered.”
On Wednesday, a video of a pair of Bakersfield urgent care doctors who question the need for continued stay-at-home orders went viral after the pair held a press conference.
“When I look at the basic tenets of microbiology, I say do we need to still shelter in place? Our answer is emphatically, no,” said Dr. Dan Erickson of Accelerated Urgent Care. “Do we need businesses to be shut down? Emphatically, no. Do we need to test them and get them back to work? Yes, we do.”
Erickson said the secondary effects of the quarantine are “significantly more detrimental to society than a virus that has proven similar in nature to a seasonal flu that we have every year,” noting death rates for COVID-19 are far lower than models initially projected. He cited concerns of increased domestic violence, child abuse, financial hardships and suicide as secondary effects of stay-at-home orders.
The county’s latest preliminary data from the 2019-20 flu season reports a total of 39 flu-related deaths and 123 admissions to hospital intensive care units in Sacramento County. The data is only available through March 14.
Erickson, whose urgent care centers offer COVID-19 testing, also said fear is causing people with other health problems to not come in for treatment. He said his own clinics have seen a 50 percent reduction in patients.
Gov. Gavin Newsom last week outlined a plan for reopening the economy, but has not announced a specific date. At an April 14 press conference, he told reporters to check back with him in two weeks about a re-opening date.
The governor said reopening the economy will depend on California seeing a flattening and decline in coronavirus hospitalization rates, along with six criteria that include expanding of testing and a heightened ability to trace infections through a workforce of health care workers.
The Sentinel is making its coronavirus coverage available to all readers, with no subscription required. Please consider a digital subscription for just $3.99/mo. to support local news in Citrus Heights.
