SAN DIEGO (CNS) – For the fourth day in a row, San Diego County Public Health officials reported a case percentage of less than 100 positive COVID-19 tests per 100,000 people Saturday, however, the state said it had data before should check remove the province from its monitoring list.
Earlier, provincial and state officials had said if the rate remained below 100 per 100,000 people – it was 94.7 on Saturday – for three consecutive days, the province would be officially removed from this list. After an additional 14 consecutive days below that number, K-12 schools could potentially reopen for personal education, depending on individual school district metrics.
In addition, 48 primary schools have submitted exemptions to the province to return to school early.
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That timeline is now uncertain, as the timeline is for reopening certain companies for operations within.
While the province is awaiting further guidance from Govt. Gavin Newsom, public health officials reported 279 new COVID-19 cases and four new deaths Friday, increasing the province’s total to 34,344 cases and 626 deaths.
One woman and three men died between July 5 and August 13, and their ages ranged from the late 1950s to the late 1980s. All had underlying medical conditions.
Of the deaths reported so far during the pandemic, 96% had some underlying medical condition. According to Dr Wilma Wooten, the province’s public health officer, the leading underlying causes were contributing to death, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, dementia / Alzheimer’s and chronic kidney disease.
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Of the 11,268 tests reported Friday, 2% returned positive, maintaining the 14-day positive test rate at 4.3%, well below the state target of 8% or less. The 7-day rolling average of tests is 7,944 per day.
While neighborhoods look positive for the region, County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher warned county residents against becoming complaining.
“We see progress, but we are in the middle of a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line right in front of us,” he said. “Our goal is not only to bring the rate of cases below 100 per 100,000, but to keep it there.”
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Of the total positive cases in the province, 2,835 – or 8.3% – have been hospitalized since the pandemic began, and 710 – or 2.1% – were admitted to an intensive care unit.
Hospital officials reported two community outbreaks Friday, bringing the number of outbreaks to 25 in the past week.
The latest outbreaks were reported in a distribution warehouse and one in a health care facility, according to the Health and Human Services Agency.
The number of outbreaks of the community remains well above the province’s target of less than seven in a span of seven days. An outbreak of a community setting is defined as three or more COVID-19 cases in an institution and in people from different households in the past 14 days.
Latinos are still disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with that ethnic group representing 61.3% of all hospitalizations and 45.4% of all deaths due to the disease. Latinos make up about 35% of San Diego County’s population.
A new COVID-19 test site began operating Wednesday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry PedEast crossing, and County Supervisor Greg Cox cited its immediate success and demand for it.
The free test site will operate from 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday through Friday and will focus on testing of essential workers and U.S. citizens living in Tijuana, according to San Diego County health officials.
No appointments are required on the walk-up page, which aims to offer around 200 tests every day. People who will be tested will not be asked about their immigration status or who lives with them, health officials said.
“We know that communities in South Bay have been hit the hardest by COVID-19,” Wooten said. “The location was selected because of the increase in cases in the region and the number of people, especially essential workers who cross every day.”
