California continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations in hotspot counties, while some areas have seen signs of stability over the past week. But as July draws to a close, it is unclear in which direction the state as a whole will drift.
Los Angeles County health officials on Sunday reported 10 additional deaths and 1,703 more cases of coronavirus infection, bringing the county’s total case count to more than 174,000. The number of reported cases and deaths is generally lower on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as Mondays, due to limited testing and a delay in reporting test lab data over the weekend.
There are currently 2,033 Los Angeles County residents hospitalized for the illness caused by the virus, 31% of whom are in intensive care. But those totals are incomplete “because data from six non-reporting hospitals is not part of today’s update,” the county said in a statement.
More than 1.6 million county residents have been tested for COVID-19, including the 10% who tested positive.
A bright spot is found in the county’s seven-day positivity rate, or the average number of positive results among all those tested in that period. According to the California Department of Public Health, the average is currently 8.3%. That percentage puts it above the state’s 8% safety threshold, but it’s lower than what the county has seen in previous weeks.
Orange County’s seven-day positivity rate is now 12.7%, which is higher than the state goal but lower than the county has previously reported.
The county reported an additional 420 cases on Sunday and two more deaths, numbers that, like those in Los Angeles County, tend to be lower on weekends.
There are currently 687 people hospitalized for the virus, including 201, or more than 29%, in intensive care. The number of hospitalized patients in Orange County reached 600 in early July and has steadily increased over the past month. The number of people hospitalized is still higher than what the county reported months ago, but it is not as high as the number reported in mid-July and is currently below the state threshold.
More than 390,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Orange County, which has registered more than 34,300 infections.
Orange and Los Angeles counties remain on the state’s watch list and are being monitored for case counts and positive infection rates. The two counties account for the largest number of outbreaks in the state, and Los Angeles continues to account for most of the state’s infections and deaths.
