Coronavirus soars as California heads for July 4 weekend

California is heading to the four-day weekend of July 4th precisely in the position it has been struggling to avoid for more than three months.

The number of coronavirus cases is increasing, with the state setting records for new cases daily twice this week. Hospitalizations of patients with coronavirus have increased 56% in the last two weeks. And the state earlier this week recorded its second deadliest day since the pandemic began.

“We are at a defining moment,” said George Rutherford, an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco. “We always knew that we would have to put up with a little transmission as things reopened, but this is much more than anything we thought would happen.”

Fear of crowds and festive gatherings could make the state’s critical situation even bleaker, and state and local officials on the California coast, from Los Angeles and Ventura counties to Pebble Beach, near Carmel and Throughout Monterey County, they rushed to close beaches and parking lots. Even Orange County officials, who previously in the pandemic refused to close their beaches and unsuccessfully requested that a judge overturn an order from Governor Newsom to temporarily close them in late April, issued a handful of beach closings and parking lots during weekend.

The University of Southern California announced Thursday that it would no longer receive students on campus for face-to-face classes during the fall semester, reversing an earlier decision to bring students back to a hybrid model of digital and in-person learning. And Imperial County, which is currently experiencing the worst in California, reinstated its stay-at-home order and closed all nonessential businesses as cases continue to escalate.

During a press conference on Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled what he called a “great public awareness campaign” encouraging Californians to comply with the order he instituted two weeks ago ordering Californians to cover their faces in most public settings.

Noting the increase in hospitalizations and the rate of coronavirus testing yielding positive results, a number that rose from 4.6% to 6.9% in the past week, implored Californians to “consider that one of those statistics could be you. “

“If you think this can’t impact you because it hasn’t yet, I hope to disappoint you,” Newsom said.

Even the Bay Area, the region that was the first in the nation to issue stay-at-home orders and where hospitalizations, cases, and deaths have remained well below Southern California, authorities began to ring some alarms on Thursday.

Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco Director of Public Health, said. The city’s growing number of cases in recent weeks was alarming and warned that it may be seeing “early signs of a surge.”

“It is really vital for people to take the measures that we know are delaying the spread of COVID-19: this means wearing face covers, social distancing, good hygiene measures and staying home if possible,” said Colfax.

All annual 4th of July fireworks shows, celebrations and fireworks in the Bay Area have been canceled, including the 4th of July Waterfront Celebration that normally draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to San Francisco each year. Instead, communities have moved to virtual celebrations in cities like Milpitas and Redwood City, a “porch parade” in Fremont and a “10am applause” in Pleasant Hill.

Santa Cruz County, which generally sees a large increase in visitors who gather for a day at the beach, cookouts, and campfire gatherings, urged residents and members of the neighboring community to celebrate from their home, noting that a recent increase in infections there “came from gatherings of friends or family.”

“The more we unite, the more COVID-19 spreads,” Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said in a statement. “Let us remember our elders and those who are vulnerable to serious illness.”

But just as other areas of the state were beginning to take more precautionary measures, Santa Clara County, which has long been the most restrictive in the state, announced some reopens.

Starting July 13 or when the state gives the go-ahead, whichever comes later, gyms, hair salons, and nail salons may reopen with social distance and mask requirements, county officials announced Thursday. Groups of up to 20 people can meet indoors, while groups of up to 60 can meet outside.

Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County Health Officer, said the changes acknowledge that the county has been sheltering in place for longer than expected and is focusing on a “risk reduction” model rather than a general order to stay home. Despite the county having the lowest per capita case rate of any urban area, she said, cases have begun to improve.

“We are at a turning point,” said Cody. “It is clear that COVID-19 will be with us for a long time, so we must adapt to a new way of life that keeps us all safe and allows us to do some of the things that we miss, appreciate and find more meaningful.”