COVID-19 cases at Manteca Unified have been consistently between 23 and 40 for the past three weeks.

The latest numbers reflect 27 cases — 18 students and nine among teachers and support staff.

That is down from a high of 76 in mid-September.

Altogether Manteca Unified has nearly 26,000 students and staff members.

Staff is now under a state mandate to be vaccinated or submit weekly COVID tests. That mandate impacts 2,369 staff members.

Gov. Newsom has also ordered all staff and students to be fully vaccinated unless they qualify for an exception once vaccinations for children have been cleared and launched. Based on his directive that it respect school academic calendars it is likely the mandate won’t go into effect until the start of the 2022-2023 school year in August.

As of Wednesday 68.1 percent of Manteca residents in the targeted age groups have been fully vaccinated. Another 7.6 percent are partially vaccinated. Those numbers for Lathrop are 79.5 percent and 8.5 percent. The Ripon numbers are 60.8 percent and 6.4 percent. 

The percentages have dropped due to the inclusion of younger youth in the targeted age groups.

Countywide 57.9 percent of the targeted population is fully vaccinated with 7.8 percent partially vaccinated.

California overall is at 61.8 percent fully vaccinated and another 13.6percent partially vaccinated.

Nationally, 59 percent are fully vaccinated and 7 percent partially vaccinated.

Four more Manteca

deaths in past 11 days

Four more people have died from COVID-19 in the past 11 days in Manteca even as case rates continue to decline.

There have now been 156 deaths in Manteca since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The death county in Ripon is at 29 and in Lathrop at 28. Countywide 1,743 people have died from COVID with just over half of those — 899 — in Stockton.

Of those deaths 11 out of 15 were people 65 and older.

Just over 1 in 20 deaths recorded in San Joaquin County since the start of September have been among the ranks of the fully vaccinated.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com