Coronavirus updates: 5,000 deaths in California as global infections surpass 8 million
More than 5,000 people have died and over 150,000 have been infected by the coronavirus in California – milestones the state reached over the weekend.
The state Department of Public Health in a Sunday update increased the COVID-19 death toll by 74 to a total of 5,063 and added more than 3,200 new lab-confirmed cases, pushing the infection count to nearly 149,000. By Monday morning, more than 151,000 had been infected and 5,089 had died, the state reported, the lowest one-day increase reported since May 25, when 19 new deaths were reported.
Global infections continue to climb as well, as data from Johns Hopkins University shows the worldwide count surpassed 8 million on Monday afternoon. The United States accounts for more than a quarter of that total at over 2.1 million.
The state’s COVID-19 figures continue to climb as testing capacity is increased and as restrictions on businesses and gatherings that had been in place since March 19 continue to loosen.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order was put in place to slow the pandemic’s spread and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by COVID-19, the disease caused by the highly contagious virus.
While Friday and Saturday represented the second- and third-highest single-day case increases for the state since the pandemic began, hospitalization and intensive care unit rates declined modestly at the end of last week, according to the public health dashboard data. Hospitalized confirmed cases fell by 3.1 percent between Friday and Saturday’s updates; hospitalized “suspected” COVID-19 cases fell by 5.3 percent; and confirmed cases in the ICU dropped by 3 percent.
Reopening has pressed on despite recent upticks in new cases and hospitalizations reported in some localities, including Sacramento County, which was briefly placed on a state watch list last week due to “increasing hospitalizations.” It’s since been removed from that list as the hospitalization rate stabilized, but as of Monday morning, state health officials have eight other counties flagged for metrics showing increased COVID-19 activity.
Newsom and state health leaders, holding their first COVID-19 news briefing in more than two weeks early Monday afternoon, said the state is equipped to handle a surge in hospitalizations, with close to 53,000 surge beds available and only 3,100 patients currently in the hospital with the virus.
Newsom also said it is critical for people to wear face coverings to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Which phase is California in, anyway?
Countless businesses were forced to close or significantly modify operations as a result of the stay-at-home order.
Since about mid-May, most of California has been gradually reopening in accordance with guidelines from Newsom’s office, which outlined a “roadmap” for reopening in four stages, or phases. Phase 1 represents stay-at-home restrictions in full force, while Phase 4 will mark the end of the statewide order.
That means the bulk of the reopening action is in phases 2 and 3. Phase 2 has been defined as businesses, gathering places and activities that carry a lower risk for virus transmission, while Phase 3 denotes higher risk.
“There is not yet a timeline for moving to Stage 3 statewide. California is currently in Stage 2, and counties with attestations are able to open some activities and businesses under Stage 3 by following the guidance issued by the state,” a recent statement from the California Department of Public Health explained.
For all but seven California counties, a number of Phase 3 businesses were allowed to reopen as of last Friday.
On June 12, the state allowed 51 of the state’s 58 counties to reopen dine-in restaurants, barbershops and hair salons, movie theaters, bars, wineries, zoos, museums, gyms, hotels, cardrooms, campgrounds and several other types of businesses. Personal care services, including nail salons and tattoo parlors, will also be allowed to reopen in those counties as of this Friday, the state says.
In-store retail and places of worship have been allowed to reopen throughout all of California, including the seven counties that have not yet been approved to accelerate reopening: San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties in the Bay Area, as well as Imperial County in the state’s southeast corner.
All reopening businesses, churches and gathering places are required to follow state-issued guidelines, which include protocols for social distancing and face covering, as well as strict capacity limits for movie theaters and places of worship.
Among places not yet allowed to reopen are concert and live theater venues, nightclubs, theme parks and higher education campuses. Because each of those bring large groups, they are considered to be later in Phase 3. The largest of event venues, including live sports played in front of a full crowd, will be the last activities allowed to resume, with Newsom saying that won’t happen until there is a widely available treatment or vaccine for COVID-19.
Sacramento’s bar scene revival
The reopening of bars over the weekend brought a mixed bag in terms of adherence to social distancing measures in midtown and downtown Sacramento among staff and patrons.
Major bars remained closed Friday night, either by choice or mandate, and many mid-sized establishments opted to wait.
Bars that did open had new rules: pool tables, shuffleboard, arcade games and other entertainment closed, karaoke nights canceled, etc.
Among indoor bars, B-Side in downtown Sacramento has taken several measures to reduce risk. It has removed bar stools, forcing people to sit in booths or at distanced tables set up in the parking lot. Customers line up six feet apart to order drinks from one kiosk at the bar’s far end, pushing the queue out the front door.
“We’re figuring things out as we go,“ B-Side co-owner Garrett Van Vleck said. “This is kind of uncharted territory for everyone.”
The busiest bars Friday night were those with kitchens. Mango’s Burger Bar, Coin-Op Game Room and Barwest all had lines stretching down their respective blocks, with varying amounts of space between groups.
In the heart of midtown, The Zebra Club had approximately 60 to 70 people packed in its relatively small indoor lounge around 11:30 p.m. Friday. Its front door was closed, but an open back door led to an outside patio with another 20 or so customers.
After a Sacramento Bee reporter asked to interview a manager, door staff were handed masks, temporarily stopped letting customers in and fruitlessly yelled for the 40 or 50 people standing in line to socially distance themselves.
Testing increases statewide, reaches Newsom goal
The state reports an all-time total of more than 2.86 million diagnostic tests conducted for COVID-19. Sunday’s update marked one of the biggest one-day jump in testing testing totals, with 77,603 performed, followed by 66,000 as of Monday’s update.
California reported a daily average of more than 61,000 tests over the 14-day stretch ending Saturday.
Newsom since late April has pointed to a goal of performing between 60,000 and 80,000 tests per day statewide.
Latest Sacramento-area numbers: Over 2,500 cases, 96 dead
Sacramento County health officials reported 41 new cases Monday morning, raising the infection total to 1,794. With 37 cases added in Sunday’s update, the two days have marked the two highest single-day increases since mid-April.
There have been 63 deaths in the county from COVID-19, with the latest being reported on Thursday.
Also in Monday’s update, the city of Sacramento surpassed a total of 1,000 infections. Another nearly 300 have come in unincorporated Sacramento County, almost 60 in Folsom and between 100 and 150 in each of Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove and Citrus Heights.
Approximately 396 of the county’s cases are considered active, with the Sacramento County health dashboard counting 1,335 cases as “likely recovered” as of Monday.
The county early last week was warned by the state about its rapidly increasing hospitalization total: from 19 patients in hospitals June 3 to 35 by June 5, then up to 39 by June 11. That figure declined to 28 as of Saturday’s update, according to state data.
Yolo County saw a spike on Thursday, adding 15 new cases. It was the highest daily increase in the county since April 11. A total of 255 people, with two reported Monday, have tested positive for coronavirus and 24 people have died. At least 17 of these deaths have been connected to an outbreak at Stollwood Convalescent Hospital in Woodland.
Placer County’s increase in coronavirus cases is surpassing the rates seen earlier in the pandemic, and in a Monday update added 18 new cases for a total of 390. Nine have died, and Placer County estimates 151 active cases as of Monday morning.
El Dorado County has maintained consistently low infection rates and is one of the few counties in California with no reported COVID-19 deaths. With four new cases reported Monday, 117 people have been infected, 54 of them from the Lake Tahoe region. No coronavirus patients in the county are currently being hospitalized and 91 have made recoveries.
Sutter County, which has also seen relatively low numbers, reported a spike of more than 10 percent on Friday. Health officials confirmed nine new cases, bringing the county total to 78. Just two people have died there. In Yuba County, one new case was added Friday, bringing totals to 35 infections and one death.
World numbers: More than 8 million infected, 435,000 dead
The coronavirus infection count crossed the 8 million mark worldwide on Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Of the 435,000 deaths globally, more than 116,000 have been reported in the United States. Following the U.S. in death toll are Brazil at nearly 44,000, the United Kingdom at nearly 42,000, Italy at more than 34,000, France at over 29,000 and Spain at more than 27,000.
California on Saturday became the seventh U.S. state to surpass 5,000 dead. New York state continues to have by far the highest death toll at nearly 31,000, followed by New Jersey at over 12,500 dead. Massachusetts reports 7,600 dead, according to Johns Hopkins. Illinois, Pennsylvania and Michigan each recently passed 6,000 dead.
What is COVID-19? How is the coronavirus spread?
Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The CDC says it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 8:46 AM.
