California stay-at-home orders beginning as coronavirus sweeps state, ICU beds filling
With surging infection rates bearing down on California and hospital capacities rapidly running out, millions in Central and Southern California will be placed under even more restrictive stay-at-home orders Sunday.
So far, the greater Sacramento region has not been included in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most recent set of public health orders, rolling back economic activity in the face of extensive viral activity, but it has seen alarming increases.
El Dorado County, which has been in the state’s most restrictive purple tier for many weeks, has reported a total of 2,822 confirmed cases of coronavirus and eight dead. In the first eight months of the pandemic, the county reported half of its total dead, but the last four came in just two days, reflective of the intensity of the winter surge.
Across California, infections are being added at a rate faster than even at the height of the summer surge. The California Department of Public Health reported more than 25,000 infections in a single day Friday, setting a record for a one-day caseload. Over the summer, the highest value was 12,807 infections in one day, less than half of the current record.
The second-highest single-day death toll was also recorded Friday, with 209 dead across the state. The record stands on July 31, when 219 people were reported dead of COVID-19. The death rate in California had been relatively low in October and early November, but is quickly rising again in tandem with the skyrocketing infection rates.
Another record set Friday was the new influx of hospital patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19. A total of 9,430 Californians are hospitalized with the virus, the highest amount ever seen since the start of the pandemic but which is certain to rise as more infections roll in through the holiday season.
Health officials had been concerned that large family gatherings at Thanksgiving and in the upcoming December holidays would prompt huge surges in infections.
As new infections continue to come in, more beds in intensive care units are filling up. As of Friday, a record amount of ICU beds were filled with COVID-19 patients. State health officials say 2,182 people are in intensive care with severe cases of the respiratory disease.
Facing potential hospital shortages, Newsom on Thursday ordered new stay-at-home restrictions, which were applied to two large regions on Saturday.
The San Joaquin Valley region — Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties — was ordered to comply with the new restrictions, which will bar in-person dining, shutter bars and wineries, and close down several economic sectors.
The San Joaquin Valley region hit 8.6% ICU capacity Saturday afternoon, and dropped even lower down to 6.6% on Sunday, plummeting from nearly 20% in just two days. It currently has the lowest ICU bed capacity of any California region.
The 11-county Southern California region — Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties — was ordered to comply with the new restrictions shortly after the San Joaquin Valley was. It had a capacity of 12.5% on Saturday, which dropped even further down to 10.3% on Sunday.
By 11:59 p.m. Sunday, when the orders are set to take effect, 27.7 million residents across 23 counties will be under the most stringent restrictions yet.
The three remaining regions designated by the state — Northern California, Greater Sacramento and the Bay Area — have remained above the 15% threshold necessary to trigger mandatory compliance with the orders.
Northern California’s ICU capacity has seen a moderate improvement over the past few days, jumping up from 18.6% on Thursday to 24.1% on Saturday and up to 26.5%, the highest in the state.
The Bay Area is holding near the 24% mark, well above Newsom’s threshold, but low enough for several Bay Area counties to institute their own restrictions voluntarily.
San Francisco, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Alameda and Marin counties are all agreeing to adopt the more strict economic restrictions, and Yolo County is all but doing the same, making an exception to allow outdoor dining at restaurants, while the governor’s order forbids all in-person dining.
Greater Sacramento’s ICU capacity dropped down to 18.2% on Sunday, down from 22.2% on Friday.
Health officials expect most ICU capacities to dip below the 15% mark in the coming days or weeks, meaning Greater Sacramento and the other remaining regions may soon be forced to close a significant amount of economic sectors despite the holiday shopping rush.
California has reported more than 1.3 million cases of coronavirus and 19,791 deaths due to COVID-19. The state has tested nearly 25 million people, and its test positivity rate is going up.
In the past two weeks, tests were averaging positive results 7.6% of the time, but in the last week, they were averaging 9.7% positives.
In the past month, the number of patients in ICUs for coronavirus has increased by 168%, from 814 on Nov. 4 to the current number of 2,182.
The week ahead
Sacramento County spokeswoman Brenda Bongiorno told The Sacramento Bee on Sunday that health officials will continue to monitor ICU capacity rates throughout the week.
As of now, Bongiorno said, the county does not plan to impose stricter economic restrictions early in light of Newsom’s order, like Yolo County or those in the Bay Area.
The county’s number of ICU patients decreased slightly over the weekend, from 77 COVID-19 patients in the ICU on Friday down to 67 on Saturday, according to a Sunday morning update from the CDPH. However, the overall ICU capacity dropped from 73 to 65 on Saturday.
If and when the Greater Sacramento region hits the 15% mark, Sacramento County will comply with the order, according to Bongiorno.
Local numbers
Sacramento County has reported a total of 41,096 infections since the onset of the pandemic, and 614 people have died of COVID-19. As in the rest of the state, the infection rate has been rapidly rising as winter approaches.
County health officials shattered a single-day infection record last week when more than 1,100 infections were reported Tuesday. Over summer, the county never broke past triple digits in a single day. The highest daily infection increase then was a mere 403 on July 20. Local ICU beds have been headed on a slow, but steady downward spiral.
Sacramento County has 65 ICU beds available, down from an average closer to 100 earlier in the fall and in late summer. Across the county, 378 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday, but by Saturday there were 371 in hospitals, 67 of whom are being treated in ICUs. The county’s most recent weekly average test positivity rate is 8.4%, a number which has been rising in recent weeks.
Yolo County has reported a total of 5,372 infections, 145 of which were reported on Saturday, and 84 deaths. Three new deaths were reported Saturday. The county’s most recent weekly test positivity rate is a whopping 17.12%, which has risen from less than 4% at the start of October. As of Saturday, Yolo County has just 7 ICU beds available, and 11 patients are already being treated for the virus in ICUs. Nineteen people total are hospitalized with COVID-19.
Placer County health officials have reported a total of 6,910 infections and 74 deaths, adding a daily record of 122 on Nov. 19. Over summer, the highest daily infection record was just 68 on July 27. Health officials say almost 6,000 of the reported infections are likely recovered, which means there are about 1,000 people in Placer County currently sick with coronavirus.
Recent data indicates a weekly positivity rate of 8.9%. Since late September, the average per capita infection rate has soared. For every 100,000 county residents, just over three had coronavirus as of Sept. 25. As of Nov. 25, the most recent data point available, that number is nearly 32. Currently, 148 people are in Placer County hospitals with COVID-19 and 20 are in ICUs. The county has 25 ICU beds available.
El Dorado County might have comparatively low infection totals, with 2,822 positive test results and eight deaths, its test positivity rate is higher than either Sacramento County’s or Placer County’s at 11.2%. It is also averaging 480 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people. The recent flurry of deaths in the county is indicative of the rapidly rising rate of infections there. Health officials say 15 people are hospitalized with the virus, four of whom are in ICUs. State data shows six beds available in El Dorado County.
In Sutter County, 3,915 people have been infected and 20 have died. Of those, 106 were confirmed infected Friday and one was reported dead. County health officials reported a daily record for infections with 168 new cases on Monday. Currently 39 people are hospitalized.
Neighboring Yuba County has reported 2,403 infections and 11 dead, with 46 new infections on Friday. Its daily infection record was set on Wednesday, when 87 people were confirmed to have coronavirus. Sixteen people are currently in the hospital.
The test positivity rate in Sutter County is 20.1%, and it has reported 65.4 coronavirus patients for every 100,000 people. Yuba County’s test positivity rate is 16.2% and has 42.5 coronavirus-positive residents for every 100,000.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 8:28 AM.