Coronavirus Pandemic: San Mateo County Reports 4 New Deaths Including Atria Senior Living Resident
SAN MATEO (CBS SF) -- San Mateo County health officials announced four new coronavirus deaths Wednesday, including a second resident of the Atria Senior Living facility in Burlingame.
Five residents of the Burlingame care facility have fallen ill with the virus since March 15. Two have died and the three others remain under treatment.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
On Monday, facility officials released a statement announcing the first death.
"Sadly, we've learned that one of our residents who had tested positive has since passed away," facility officials said. "Our thoughts are with their family during this difficult time. We remain in close communication with all our residents and their families and continue to provide our support as we navigate this unprecedented situation together."
Meanwhile, San Mateo health officials described the three other fatalities reported Wednesday as either adults or older adults. No other details have yet been released.
The death toll in the county is now 5. In the Bay Area, there have been 25 fatalities with 16 in Santa Clara County, one each in Sonoma County, Costa Contra County, Alameda County and Sonoma County.
San Mateo officials also said they had seen a slight rise in the number of confirmed cases to 165 as of Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed during a news conference that a full half of the confirmed COVID-19 cases have been patients between the ages of 18 and 49.
"Young people can and will be impacted by this virus. In fact, young people disproportionately are the ones testing positive in the state of California," Newsom said. "Fifty percent of the 2,102 individuals who have tested positive [as of Tuesday morning] -- 50 percent -- are between the ages of 18 and 49. I'll repeat that. Half of those who have tested positive to date in the state of California are 18 to 49 years old."
An additional 26 percent of cases were affecting patients aged 50-64, Newsom said. While he noted that the severity of the disease and hospitalization rate skewed older, the death of the teen stood as a reminder of the fact that the disease impacts everyone.
"I just cannot impress upon the young people the seriousness of the moment and how critical they are to ultimately getting us on the other side by practicing that social distancing that we all are accustomed to hearing, but not in every case advancing individually," he said.
Newsom said the latest jump marked a 17.5 percent increase in the number of cases in the state. 58 coronavirus patients in the state had died as of early Wednesday. The Governor noted those numbers were sure to increase significantly as more tests were processed.
