California has recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases in a single day, as the state overtook New York in most cases in the country.
The state saw 12,807 confirmed cases Tuesday, the governor, Gavin Newsom, announced Wednesday. That figure brings the state’s total to more than 413,576 since the pandemic began, Newsom announced.
The figures mean that California has overtaken New York, once the undisputed center of the American crisis, in most cases of coronavirus in the country. However, California, which has a population of 40 million, double that of New York, remains behind the Empire State in other metrics. New York still has by far the most coronavirus-related deaths in the country at more than 32,500, and its confirmed infection rate of approximately 2,100 per 100,000 is double the rate of California.
The case came up with a warning from the California Hospital Association that the state must secure more hospital beds.
About 45,000 of the state’s 50,000 hospital beds are full, said Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association. While the state currently has the capacity to add 20,000 beds, it must prepare to treat more patients, Coyle said.
“We have the capacity to increase, but we may need more,” said Coyle.
The increase in cases comes after California reopened much of its economy in May. Since then, Newsom has ordered the closure of bars and restaurants across the state while imposing tighter restrictions, including bans on indoor worship services and in-person instruction in schools, in virtually every large county and some small where the outbreak is more severe.
California’s seven-day positivity rate is 7.6%, Newsom noted during her briefing today. He strongly urged Californians to continue to wear face masks to limit the spread of the virus and promised that the state would distribute more personal protective equipment to front-line workers to protect them as cases increase.
Newsom noted that the state had already distributed 86.4 million N95 masks and 297 million surgical masks to front-line workers.
“We are a state, once again the size of 21 states combined, so it is not surprising now in some ways as we begin to reopen key sectors of our economy … that our numbers would start to increase,” Newsom said. on Wednesday. “[It’s] a sober reminder of why we are taking things as seriously as we are. “
California initially managed to slow the spread of the virus. But the state has had a sharp reversal, with Covid-19 infection rates rising sharply in recent weeks.
Starting in March, residents were urged to stay home as much as possible. State health orders closed all businesses, except essential ones, such as supermarkets. Throughout May and June, California reopened much of its economy, and people resumed shopping at stores and dined at restaurants.
But infections began to rise and a new round of trade restrictions was imposed, including a ban on indoor eating in restaurants and bars.
Los Angeles County, the country’s most populous with 10 million residents, reported that younger people were driving the spread of new infections.
More than half of the county’s new cases come from people under the age of 41. The county’s total Covid-19 deaths were 4,154. with positive cases exceeding 161,670, the county public health department said.
“The tragedy of what we are witnessing is that many of our younger residents interact with each other and do not adhere to recommended prevention measures, while our older residents continue to experience the results of this further spread with the worst health outcomes, including death, “said Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County director of public health.
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