Still spreading...

Coronavirus updates: 15 deaths linked to COVID-19 at Concord nursing home, report says

By Amy Graff

The number of COVID-19 cases at San Quentin Prison in Marin County is growing rapidly with 445 cases in inmates and staff confirmed as of Wednesday morning.

Two weeks ago, the prison reported about two dozen cases. By last Monday, infections had grown to nearly 200 and then more doubled over the weekend, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's COVID-19 Tracker.

The prison hasn't reported any coronavirus-related deaths but the California state penal system has seen 91 deaths in other facilities. More than 3,800 inmates across the system have tested positive.

San Quentin didn't have any cases of COVID-19 until 121 inmates from the California Institution of Men in Chino were transferred to San Quentin in late May.

CDCR said in statement that inmates were tested for COVID-19 before the transfer, but some tested positive after their arrival. A San Francisco Chronicle investigation reported the men "were not tested for the coronavirus for up to a month before they were bused by the dozens."

The inmates were moved out of the Chino facility due to major outbreak and and "to reduce density in living quarters and protect our most vulnerable population," CDCR said in statement.

The testing rate at San Quentin is four times the state average, CDCR Press Secretary Dana Simas said in a statement. The prison has completed 1,108 tests and "completed mandatory testing of all staff."

June 24, 7:30 a.m. Fourteen residents and one health care worker at a nursing home in Concord have died due to complications from COVID-19, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. At least 75 people connected with San Miguel Villa have been infected and 45 patients are still housed at the facility.

Nursing homes across the state have experienced outbreaks and 40% of all California's COVID-19-related deaths are in nursing homes.

As of Wednesday morning 2,321 residents of skilled nursing facilities have died from COVID-19 and at least 12,400 have been infected in the state. Health care workers at nursing homes have also been impacted, with 91 deaths reported and 7,739 workers testing positive.

June 24, 7:15 a.m. California shattered a daily record for new coronavirus cases with more than 6,000 infections reported Monday — the largest single-day count in the state since the pandemic hit the U.S.

In Los Angeles County, officials reported more than 2,000 new cases for the third time in the last week. In San Diego County, officials reported more than 300 new cases for the second day in a row after breaking a record with more than 310 cases Sunday.

The case count is only one metric in tracking the spread of the virus, and, while increased testing capacity may account for part of the increase, officials have said the surge cannot be pegged to testing alone.

June 24, 7 a.m. As more Contra Costa County residents are being tested for the coronavirus, it has become clearer that an increasing proportion of those who test positive are young, between 20 and 50 years old, county health officials said Tuesday.

Officials warned that cases are rising among all groups, however.

"We're seeing a rise in all indicators, regionally and in the Bay Area," said Anna Roth, director of Contra Costa County Health Services.

That fact, she said, makes it important for county residents to remember there is still a serious pandemic going on.

There were 343 new COVID-19 cases in Contra Costa County in the past week, Roth said, about a week ahead of the July 1 date when bars, gyms and personal service businesses are set to reopen, along with indoor restaurant dining.

"It's clear evidence of widespread community transmission," Roth told the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.