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New COVID cases drop to five in Manteca as free testing is ending
covid test
Healthcare workers at Golden Valley Health Center’s Ceres office test patients for coronavirus in the parking lot. San Joaquin County may use incentives to encourage more people to get tests.

Only five new COVID-19 cases in Manteca were reported in the previous two days in an update issued Wednesday by the San Joaquin County Health Department.

During the same time period there were no new cases in Ripon and one in Lathrop.

Those stats dovetail into comments San Joaquin County Health Care Services Director Greg Diederich told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that COVID-19 case rates, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions are on the decline allowing the lifting of additional statewide mandates.  

He noted that COVID-19 case rates are dramatically decreasing from 22.3 to 5 cases per 100,000 since March 2, 2022. 

 Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 there have been 166,879 total COVID-19 cases in the county with 2,180 deaths. Of those deaths 208 were in Manteca, 38 in Lathrop, and 35 in Ripon.

There are now 25 people hospitalized with COVID-19 including five in ICU with two of those patients on ventilators.

Some 63.6% of San Joaquin County’s total population is fully vaccinated. An additional 187,848 residents have received a booster or extra dose.

Diederich told the Board that the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) informed COVID testing vendors who have made claims against a Federal COVID fund for uninsured that beginning March 22, HRSA will stop accepting claims for testing and treatments due to a lack of sufficient funds.

On April 5, HRSA will stop accepting claims for COVID tests provided to uninsured individuals.  Moving forward, people without insurance will be charged a $100 fee at most testing sites, with a few exceptions.  See the COVID testing page at SJReady.org for updated information.

Diederich said that while there are still many testing and vaccination events occurring throughout the County, many sites will be closing or reducing hours in the coming weeks. He said residents can receive free at-home COVID-19 tests at www.COVIDtests.gov.  Residents are also encouraged to check www.MyTurn.ca.gov for information about testing and vaccine locations and hours of operation.  

Diederich noted that a nationwide Test to Treat Initiative will launch this week.  Through this program, at-risk people who test positive for COVID-19 can visit participating local pharmacy-based clinics, federally-qualified community health centers and long-term care facilities to be assessed by a health care provider.  At this assessment, the provider can prescribe antiviral medications which may eventually be provided at certain testing sites. For more information regarding available COVID-19 treatments, visit www.aspr.hhs.gov.

 “The goal of this program is to quickly identify COVID-19 positive individuals that might be at higher risk for severe disease and then immediately prescribing the appropriate oral anti-viral treatment to prevent decomposition and hospitalization,” he said. “This program ensures that if people who are at high risk for developing severe disease test positive, they can get treatment quickly and easily.”