California is now the centerpiece of the country’s latest coronavirus surplus, yet San Francisco has the lowest case rate among the 20 largest U.S. cities.
As the new year approaches and vaccines are being rolled out across the country, case rates and deaths are at an all-time high. But the gap is quite sharp in the largest metro areas across the country.
Cases are low in some, including San Francisco, Seattle and Detroit. Others, including the larger cities of Texas and some Southern California counties, are twice as often as three times as many.
Southern California has been the main driver behind the recent boom in California, although many two area cities have also suffered cases and deaths.
A look at the latest case rates (100,000 daily average in the last seven days) in major metro areas of the country, according to a New York Times tracker:
Large metro areas with low case rates
Seattle appears to have the lowest case rate among the country’s larger metropolitan areas. It was the first coronavirus center in the country, but for most epidemics, cases have not spiraled out of control.
Like other cities, Seattle experienced its worst growth in late November and early December. 9,907 new cases were reported in December, but since mid-December, cases have been declining dramatically, with 104 new cases being counted on December. 26.
During the epidemic, San Francisco is seen as a model of the epidemic, leading orders and mask orders in shelters, and carefully reopening businesses. It became the only large metro area in California that managed to get to the minimum restricted yellow re-open level in October.
San Francisco is part of an order in the Bay Area Shelter that is mandatory by state, but has a lower case rate compared to the other two area counties, with 27.2 new daily cases per 100,000 population.
Metro areas with high case rates
Los Angeles County has been clinging to the recent boom, with more than 20,000,000 cases added at the end of the holiday on Friday and Saturday, bringing the total to more than 19,119,000. Hospitals are overflowing with patients and ICUs are overflowing. A county health official says people gather and merge into different homes. Officials expect the state’s mandatory stay-at-home order in the region to be extended for several weeks in the new year.
In the far south, San Diego County is also seeing an increase in cases, although the rate is lower than in Los Angeles. On Sunday, the San Diego County epidemic reported more than 3,100 new coronavirus cases for the 27th day in a row, with more than 1,000 new cases daily. The county health official said post-Thanksgiving infections accounted for 44% of the total case, and on the current route, the county will die from another 600 coronaviruses before the end of next month.
In Texas, the second most populous state in the country after California, Dallas County is extending its vacation. During the Christmas holiday from Thursday to Saturday, an average of 2,000,000 new cases are reported daily in Dallas County, and the hospital’s equipment and staff are very thin. Officials expect more than 1,500 hospital admissions in the county by Jan. 5, which is expected to bring down the overall quality of care. Covid-19 is now the third leading cause of death in Las Vegas County.
More than 10,000 new cases were reported in Arizona on Monday, an increase of more than 50% since Thanksgiving, a total of 500,000 nationwide. On Saturday, more than 300,000 cases were reported in Maricopa County. Latino and American Indian populations are disproportionately affected by the virus.
The state also holds the record for the highest number of COVID-19 hospital admissions and COVID-19 ICU admissions in a single day. Earlier this month, public health and medical leaders called on the governor for strict protocols, including a statewide mask order and a ban on indoor dining.
Kelly Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: KellieHwang
