A COVID-19 spike in agricultural California is so steep that a Lodi hospital is not accepting patients with other illnesses.
In San Joaquin County, the rate of infections is nearly four times higher than re-opening guidelines call for. The state on Monday counted over 6,000 new cases.
The rapid rise in San Joaquin County is mostly due to people socializing and visiting restaurants together, said Supervising Public Health Educator Daniel Kim. There are 91 people hospitalized with COVID-19, state records show, up from eight on May 21. Total cases have jumped by 903 in the past two weeks, to 2,400, county records show.
Adventist Health Lodi Memorial has begun diverting non-coronavirus patients to other hospitals. The emergency room remains open, and officials from the hospital say less than 30 staff members have tested positive.
Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a statewide mask requirement, acting in part because local officials, including those in San Joaquin County and its most populous city, Stockton, declined to do so. The county is one of 11 that might be required to roll back reopening plans amid surges in infections or hospitalizations.
This story was at Reuters.
