California reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections in a single day on Tuesday, hospitalizations peaked, and deaths reached record levels as the state continued to lose ground in its battle against COVID-19.
The 11,142 cases recorded Tuesday were the most confirmed on any day since the pandemic began, breaking the previous record of 9,816 on July 9, according to data from The Times’ coronavirus tracker.
The state has now reported at least 9,000 new cases of coronavirus in one day five times, all since July 7.
Statewide, more than 6,700 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 are hospitalized, according to the latest official data. That is also a new record.
Authorities also announced an additional 144 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, the second highest number of single-day deaths in the state.
Los Angeles County continues to have a disproportionate share of the outbreak. Public health officials on Tuesday confirmed 4,244 new cases and 2,103 hospitalizations, both of which were single-day records.
In recent weeks, “Hospitalizations have increased significantly and we are on an upward trajectory,” County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday.
“The change from decreasing rates to increasing rates happened very quickly, and now we see a three-day average of more than 2,000 people hospitalized on a given day, which is more people hospitalized each day by COVID-19 than at any other time during the pandemic.”
The average number of confirmed cases each day has also increased dramatically. The seven-day average of new daily cases increased from 1,452 in early June to 2,859.
“This is twice what we were in early June, and it is higher than at any other time in the pandemic,” said Ferrer.
While the death rate is stable, the increase in hospitalizations will likely result in an increase in deaths, he said.
Ferrer announced 44 new deaths in the county on Wednesday, bringing the total deaths to more than 3,900, as well as 2,758 new cases, bringing the cumulative count to more than 143,000.
“We are in an alarming and dangerous phase in this pandemic here,” he said.
More than 349,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed across the state, and almost 7,300 Californians have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic reached the Golden State.
Communities of color have been particularly affected.
A recent Times analysis of statewide data found that for every 100,000 Latino residents, 767 tested positive. For every 100,000 black residents, 396 have tested positive. In comparison, for every 100,000 white residents, 261 have confirmed infections.
The recent surge in infections, hospitalizations, and deaths has erased the state’s progress in the spring, when officials were optimistic that California had successfully “turned the curve” to the point where it was safe to reopen large sectors of the city. economy.
Health officials repeatedly said they hoped that opening additional businesses and meeting spaces would likely lead to an increase in cases.
However, the virus recovered with alarming speed and ferocity, forcing the state to pause or reverse many reopens and pushing some areas to the brink of reimposing the kind of strict orders to stay home that, just a few weeks ago, seemed to be on The rearview mirror.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned the city is getting closer to yet another shutdown as the dangers posed by the coronavirus continue to surface.
“We made a lot of progress in March and April,” he said Monday. “There is no doubt that the pandemic has gotten worse, here in Los Angeles, in California and in this country. … we did the right thing before. And now we have to do the right thing again. “
Amid the continuing surge, Governor Gavin Newsom announced state restrictions on Monday to again stop all indoor dining at restaurants and bars, zoos and museums.
Most counties, including Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside, must close gyms, houses of worship, beauty salons, shopping malls, and other businesses under the new order. Offices with nonessential workers in those counties must also close.
“The virus will not go away anytime soon,” Newsom said.
Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of public health, said Wednesday that the rate of coronavirus transmission has continued to rise in the Bay Area and that the city would not move forward with the reopening.
“Unfortunately, we are experiencing a spike in COVID-19 infections that is affecting our community’s health and reopening plans,” he said during a virtual press conference.
“The virus is not just out there,” he added, “it is out there more than ever before. It continues to spread locally in our community and throughout the Bay Area region. ”
Colfax said Monday that each person with the disease was infecting 1.25 more, a number that said it had to decrease. On Wednesday, that number was at 1.3.
“If we don’t do better,” he said, “we are seeing major problems in late August and September with an average peak of 900 hospitalized patients in early October.”
However, hospital capacity in the city has held up relatively well this week, with 27% of acute beds and 28% of intensive care beds available, he said.
Elsewhere in the Bay area, Alameda County officials announced Wednesday that the state had approved their certification documentation, clearing the way for cookouts to resume, with face covers when not eating. or drinking, and for the Oakland Zoo to be open for outdoor activities, provided safety measures are applied.
However, since the county has remained on the state’s watch list for three days, closed shopping centers will have to close, and houses of worship can only have outdoor services.
California’s relapse from an apparent success story to a warning story is reflected on its monitoring list of counties that are experiencing high disease transmission and / or hospitalizations. As of Wednesday, most of California’s 58 counties were on the list.
Authorities reported that outbreaks in indoor workplaces and factories, as well as in private meetings, are the main drivers of the state’s recent surge.
At the same time, high demand and tight supplies are making it harder for Californians to get tested for coronavirus infection. Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said Tuesday that the state is working on new testing guidelines to ensure the most vulnerable have access priority.
“Although we want to maintain the general population’s access to testing, it is very important for us to focus first on those whose clinical course or community can really benefit from this more specific testing approach, not as an exclusive group but as an initial priority group. . Especially during this time where transmission is high and response times have increased, “he said.
Times staff writers Ben Welsh, Stephanie Lai, Rong-Gong Lin II, Howard Blume, Melody Gutierrez, Hannah Fry, and Maura Dolan contributed to this report.
