Ten people have died and a number of children and teenagers have now tested positive for COVID-19 in San Mateo County, health officials said Tuesday.
The county provided its most detailed information yet on the outbreak of the respiratory illness. Meeting virtually with the Board of Supervisors, with District 2 representative Carole Groom lounging comfortably in front of a tropical beach background, county health chief Louise Rogers relayed the latest on testing, hospital capacity and demographics of the infected.
The 10 casualties are four more than had previously been reported, but the case count remained at 309. Of the 10 deaths, six have been women, bucking other research that has shown men are more likely to succumb to the virus, and all but one have been over the age of 65.
No one under 60 has died, but seven under the age of 20 have tested positive. After that, cases are spread mostly evenly through the population, with those under the age of 50 accounting for 44.33% of cases and those over 50 representing the slight majority.
Although the county has reported 309 confirmed cases, Rogers warned the total is likely much higher than that. They have run 534 tests in the county, forced to “essentially ration” them to those showing symptoms, Rogers said.
“We believe due to those limitations, the number of cases is significantly understated,” she told the board, cautioning it was “not a good indicator the prevalence in the community.”
The county is preparing for the crest of the wave of cases to come in the following weeks. It currently has 66 functional intensive care units, and hospitals, particularly Seton Medical Center, were having problems acquiring much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE).
Board Vice President David Canepa, who represents District 5, said he sees a “disaster on the horizon.”
Rogers called the ICU capacity “one of the most important challenges we have to overcome.” The biggest hurdle: staffing for the machines, which can require three workers to one ventilator. The county also has to navigate the supply chain, then find space to set up more of the negative air pressure rooms.
Eight assisted-living facilities in the county have reported cases of COVID-19 and are working with officials from the state health department and the Centers for Disease Control, Rogers said.
Statewide, the number of patients in ICUs doubled over the weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. There have now been more than 50 deaths in the Bay Area, nearly 150 across California and more than 3,000 in the U.S., which on Tuesday surpassed the number of deaths on 9/11.
