Coronavirus updates: California hits 700,000 infections, nation 6 million, world 25 million

California has officially topped 700,000 cases of coronavirus.

That means that in the 172 days since the coronavirus was officially classified a pandemic, more than 4,000 people have been contracting the virus daily, on average.

Both by New York Times COVID-19 tracking data and by numbers from Johns Hopkins University show that the nation’s most populous state has passed the 700,000 mark. Johns Hopkins reported that California had hit 702,600 confirmed cases of the highly-infectious virus by Sunday morning, the most of any state thus far.

Data provided by the California Department of Public Health, which delays its reports by several days, has yet to reach that highwater mark, hovering at nearly 694,000 cases per reports current through Friday. Meanwhile, 12,834 people have died of COVID-19.

In mid-August, the state was at 600,000 infections. Nevertheless, the state’s coronavirus infections have been trending downward in recent weeks.

The week-over-week changes in new reported cases — the difference in how many cases were reported between this week and last — have been going down. In the past week, the state reported 14.5% fewer new cases of coronavirus than the week prior. In the past week, 36,947 cases were reported statewide. The week before that saw 43,203 new infections.

Earlier this month, California’s daily infection records were challenged several times. Though July 21 still stands with the highest amount of new reported cases — officials reported 12,807 infections that day — the early days of August were nearly as bad. On Aug. 10, 12,500 new cases were reported as infection rates spiked. Then, on Aug. 14, 12,614 new cases were added.

Comparatively, the latter half of August seems not nearly so fraught. Since Aug. 16, California public health officials have not reported single-day increases in infections higher than 7,000. The highest in that time span came on Aug. 22, when 6,777 people were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.

Death rates have begun to decline as well after spiking in late July and early August. The single deadliest day occurred July 31, when 219 deaths were reported by California officials.

Hospitalizations have been declining for some time now. The state hit a peak of hospitalizations on July 21, when 7,170 people were in hospitals with confirmed cases of COVID-19. Since then, it has dropped to its current level of 4,072 people hospitalized. Of those, 1,282 people are being treated in intensive care units.

Local and worldwide figures

Trends across the state can be seen at the county level, where local health officials are reporting similar declines in viral activity.

Sacramento County has reported 17,150 cases and 274 deaths. On Tuesday, 300 new cases were added to the total, followed by 119 Wednesday, 167 Thursday and 241 Friday, when nine deaths were added. Of the total, health officials estimate that 13,471 patients have since recovered. State data shows that 200 people are currently hospitalized, 60 of whom are in ICUs. On July 30, 281 patients were in hospitals with COVID-19, the highest recorded yet. Hospitalizations have been steadily dropping since then. The county has 100 beds still available for its roughly 1.5 million residents.

Yolo County health officials have reported a total of 2,386 COVID-19 cases and 52 deaths. Sunday’s update brought 52 new cases and one more death. The county reported 25 cases Saturday, and two new deaths Thursday. There are five patients currently in county hospitals, two of whom are in ICUs. The county has six ICU beds remaining, according to state data. The county has seen outbreaks at several long-term care facilities, which account for 141 of the total number of cases and 26 of the deaths.

Woodland’s Stollwood Convalescent Hospital reported an outbreak in April and it is still the most severe outbreak in the county. There, 66 people connected to the facility have been infected with coronavirus and 17 have died. The facility will close permanently in September.

At Alderson Convalescent Hospital in Woodland, 17 residents and 10 staff members have been infected. Three people have died. Gloria’s Country Care in Woodland has reported seven infections in residents and the same number in staff. Two have died. Woodland Residential Services has reported six infections in residents and six more in staff. Four have died.

Placer County has reported 2,947 cases of coronavirus and 32 deaths. On Sunday, 26 new cases were reported. On Saturday, 48 new cases were reported. There are 38 people hospitalized in the county and 12 are being treated in ICUs. The county has 28 ICU beds available. Last week, Placer County was removed from the state’s regional coronavirus watchlist, owing to its relatively low transmission rate.

El Dorado County has reported a total of 951 COVID-19 cases and two deaths. Nine new cases were reported Friday, seven Thursday and three Wednesday. On Aug. 10, the county reported its second COVID-19 death. El Dorado County has remained off of the state’s regional coronavirus watchlist. One person is currently hospitalized in an ICU. The county has 11 ICU beds remaining.

Sutter County has reported a total of 1,368 cases and 10 deaths as of Friday. Two new fatalities were reported Thursday. The county reported 21 new cases Friday and the same number Thursday. Fourteen people are currently being hospitalized.

In neighboring Yuba County, 909 people have been infected and six have died. On Friday, nine new cases were reported, eight were reported Thursday and one death was reported Wednesday. Ten people in Yuba County are being hospitalized.

The world officially reached 25 million infections Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 844,000 people have been killed by COVID-19.

The United States also hit another benchmark on Sunday, reaching 6 million infections, according to New York Times tracking data. Johns Hopkins data shows the nation just a few thousand below 6 million. More than 183,000 Americans have died, according to the university.

Brazil is next, with 3.8 million infections and 120,000 deaths. India is third in reported infections with more than 3.5 million infections and fourth in deaths at 63,000. Mexico has also seen a high death toll. There, 63,000 people have died, despite a relatively low infection total of 591,000. Russia is nearing 1 million infections, but has reported only 17,000 deaths.

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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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 people 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 August 30, 2020 at 12:46 PM.