California recorded the most coronavirus-related deaths in a single day amid a spike in infections that has brought the state’s cumulative case count to the highest in the nation.
The 157 deaths Wednesday, the highest one-day figure in the state so far, according to The Times’ coronavirus tracker, brought California’s deaths to more than 8,000.
The sobering death toll continues what has been an unprecedented week in California in terms of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday afternoon that 12,807 new coronavirus infections had been reported across the state in the past 24 hours, a record.
Over 421,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported across the state during the course of the pandemic. That means that about 1 in 94 Californians has had a confirmed infection at some point.
Statewide, 7,170 confirmed patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized through Tuesday, also a new high and an 18% increase from two weeks ago, with 2,058 people in intensive care, according to the state Department of Public Health.
“It is just another reminder … of the magnitude of the impact this virus continues to have,” Newsom said during a briefing on Wednesday.
However, both numbers fell sharply in the latest available state data released on Thursday, which showed that 6,825 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized and 1,978 were in intensive care as of Wednesday.
Los Angeles County continues to bear the brunt of the state increase, with more than 165,000 total cases and 4,200 confirmed deaths through Thursday morning.
Later in the afternoon, county health officials announced an additional 49 deaths and 2,014 new cases.
The outbreak is so severe that health officials said COVID-19 is on track to be the second leading cause of death in the county.
From January to June, COVID-19 killed approximately 3,400 people, according to the county Department of Public Health. During the same period last year, coronary heart disease was only attributed as the cause of more deaths, with nearly 5,800.
During the first six months of this year, COVID-19 also killed more than twice as many people in Los Angeles County as pneumonia and the flu during the latest flu season, which ran from October to May, officials at Health.
“One of the reasons we are working so hard to flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19 is to limit the strain on our healthcare system so that, when flu season comes in a few months, we will be able to contain and delay the spread of COVID-19 while knowing that our hospitals will also need to care for people with influenza, “county public health director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday.
Los Angeles is far from the only county that is seeing high levels of coronavirus activity.
Kern County reported 1,135 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, its second consecutive day in quadruples after Wednesday’s count of 1,120, according to The Times tracker. The last two days alone represent approximately 18% of the county’s total confirmed cases.
In San Bernardino County, authorities announced 21 new deaths on Thursday, matching the most reported in a single day and bringing the total number of deaths to 358.
Throughout the pandemic, officials have preached the importance of flattening the curve, keeping the rate of new infections under control, so that the health system is not overwhelmed.
However, experts say hospitalization and death totals reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks ago, so it takes time to see how behavioral changes affect transmission and whether measures implemented to stop the spread of the disease are working.
“I think we started leaving the shelter somewhere around Memorial Day, both emotionally and physically. And we are paying the price for that, ”said Nicholas Jewell, a biostatistics authority at UC Berkeley. “It is as if we were tiptoeing on the ice. What we did, instead, was that everything ran out on the ice, some not too cautiously. And a lot of people fell through the ice. “
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Secretary of Health and Human Services, said it could take three to five weeks to see the full impact of the measures the state has recently taken, including issuing a universal face mask order on 18 June and renewal of restrictions on numerous activities and businesses. week.
However, some argue that the situation requires faster and more far-reaching action. Among them is State Senator Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), who asked Newsom to reimpose home stay policies in most of the state until the outbreak is under control.
Specifically, the Bay Area legislator has proposed that counties return to shelter-in-place, meaning their residents would be required to stay in their homes, except for essential jobs or travel, if they have a positive test rate. greater than 2% in the last 14 days.
The statewide positivity rate in the last 14 days is 7.6%.
Ferrer previously said that “nothing can be off the table in the pandemic,” but that she personally hopes “we don’t have to go back” to those kinds of restrictions in Los Angeles County.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has also raised the specter of re-imposing some sort of stay-at-home order if conditions continue to deteriorate, said Wednesday that although the COVID-19 threat level remains orange or high risk, the city “is not moving to red and we are not closing any additional businesses or activities.”
He added that the positivity rate for virus cases had dropped slightly for the first time in several weeks, from a seven-day average of 13.6% last week to 10%.
“Between the closings two weeks ago and the renewed vigilance I’m certainly feeling throughout the city, we’ll find out in the next week or so, together, guided by our county health department, by the data, where we are and where. we’re. you’re moving, “he said.
Health officials continue to emphasize that personal decisions are as important as political ones. Residents and business owners must continue to take the necessary steps to protect themselves, their customers, and those around them, including physical distancing, the use of cloth covers, and the practice of good hand hygiene.
“We will get to the other side of this soon, but once again it will take all of us and all of our businesses,” Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said Thursday.
County officials unveiled a tiered compliance plan to potentially cite and fine businesses that violate the county’s coronavirus health orders.
Starting in late August, companies that do not meet the requirements will face fines ranging from $ 100 for the first offense to $ 500 and a suspension of the 30-day permit for multiple offenses.
Last weekend, county inspectors visited 507 restaurants, 69 hotels, and 174 residential pools and found that the vast majority of them were compliant, according to Davis.
“We want to be reasonable and work with companies, but we also know that time is of the essence to slow the spread of this virus and protect the health of our residents,” he said.
Times staff writers Alejandra Reyes-Velarde and James Rainey contributed to this report.
