California Coronavirus Update: Deaths, New Cases Hit Near Record Highs; 34 Percent Of Infections Happened In Past Two Weeks

Tom Tapp
·2 min read

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On June 25, California Governor Gavin Newsom reported that 25 percent of the state’s total coronavirus cases had happened in the past 2 weeks.

Newsom said at that point that “We’ve seen 56,000 new cases just in the past 14 days,” and indicated that that was over a quarter of the total 195,000 cases identified at that point.

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Less than two weeks after the governor made that announcement, things have gotten even worse.

On Tuesday, state tracking data indicated that over one third of the region’s total COVID cases have been identified in the past 14 days. California has seen 94,701 new cases since July 23. The total number of positive coronavirus tests in the state is now 277,774. That means the increase over this two-week period is 34 percent.

The positivity rate of new tests just 14 days ago was 4.9 percent. That rate is now 6.8 percent.

Hospitalizations are up 50 percent over the same 2-week period to nearly 6,000. Likewise, ICU admissions are up 39 percent over 14 days.

On Monday, one ray of hope was that the number of deaths was way down. Only 6 COVID-related fatalities were reported during the recent period. But deaths, the governor reminded, are a “lagging indicator.”

Also, said the governor, “the cohort of individuals that are being tested now are getting younger and younger.” Their needs, once they test positive “may not be as acute,” he said.

Tuesday’s report was less optimistic on both counts.

The number of new deaths reported in the state on Tuesday was 111. That’s the second-highest 24-hour total since the outbreak began.

Also on Tuesday, the state reported it had identified 6,090 new cases in the past 24 hours. That number is second only to the all time high of 7,149 reported on June 24. The past several weekends have seen totals above 8,000, but these results are likely attributable to delayed testing being released.

California now has seen 6,448 deaths as a result of of COVID-19. That number of COVID-related deaths increased by 1.8 percent day-over-day. The number of COVID-19 diagnostic test results in California reached a total of 4,896,370 an increase of 103,017 tests since Sunday. California’s hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased by 199 from Sunday.

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