A person walks through a closed Banana Republic store on June 11, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Economic concerns due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continue as an additional 1.5 million people applied for unemployment benefits for the first time last week.
Justin Sullivan | fake pictures
The California Department of Public Health reported its second consecutive record jump in coronavirus cases on Wednesday when the state joins a handful of others with a growing number of cases.
California reported 7,149 additional Covid-19 cases since Tuesday, a 69% increase in two days, bringing the state total to 190,222 cases, according to the state health department. The highest jump from the previous day was reported Tuesday when the state registered 5,019 new additional cases.
“We cannot continue doing what we have done in the past few weeks. Understandably, many of us developed a little cabin fever, some would say they developed a little amnesia, others frankly let down their guard,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. at a press conference.
California is one of 30 states where case numbers are growing 5% or more based on a seven-day average, a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. According to Hopkins data, the seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases in the state increased nearly 46% compared to a week ago.
As daily case numbers are growing, Governor Gavin Newsom said the state conducted a record number of tests, nearly 96,000 in the past 24 hours, he said. The percentage of tests that tested positive has increased slightly in the past two weeks, standing at 5.1% over a 14-day average, he said.
Research shows that it can take five to 12 days for people to show symptoms of the coronavirus, which could delay reporting.
“I want to remind people that we are still in the first wave of this pandemic,” Newsom said. “I want to remind each and every one of you of the importance, power and power of your individual decision making.”
Covid-19 hospitalizations in California have increased 29% in the past 14 days, totaling 4,095 as of Tuesday. However, that remains a fraction of the state’s total hospital capacity of more than 73,800 beds. Admissions to the intensive care unit have increased 18% in the past two weeks, Newsom said.
Newsom reminded residents to continue wearing a face mask when in public. On Thursday, Newsom ordered everyone in the state, with limited exceptions, to wear a mask in most public places.
“We don’t want to see people fined,” Newsom said. “But we want people to encourage others to be safe, not only for you but also for others.”
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