COVID updates: New infections, hospitalizations falling fast across California
COVID-19 activity is falling sharply in California after new cases peaked during the height of the omicron surge in early January.
The California Department of Public Health on Monday reported the daily case rate at 104 per 100,000 residents, plunging nearly 65% from the omicron peak of 296 per 100,000 recorded about three weeks earlier.
Statewide test positivity dropped to 9.5%, California’s lowest percentage since Christmas Eve, and down from 13.9% the previous Monday.
Hospitalized cases of COVID-19 have fallen by several hundred patients each of the past few days, reported Monday by CDPH at 10,595 COVID-positive patients statewide with 2,101 in intensive care units. Those tallies are down from peaks of about 15,500 and 2,600, respectively, in January.
Case and test positivity rates remain highest in rural parts of Northern California and the Central Valley: Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Tulare, Kings, Lake, Yuba, Fresno, Tehama, Merced, Glenn, Sierra and Trinity counties all had positivity rates above 20%, more than double the statewide average. All of those counties lag the statewide vaccination rate, of about 82% of eligible residents with at least one dose, by a significant margin.
Some of the state’s lowest numbers are in Bay Area counties with vaccination rates above the state average: positivity ranged between 7% and 8% in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
The positivity rate has fallen to 5.9% in Los Angeles County, one of the first in the state to see omicron become its dominant variant.
COVID cases dropping at Sacramento K-12 schools
Conditions in Sacramento-area schools continue to improve.
The San Juan Unified School District reported 731 active student cases on Monday morning, a drop of nearly 200 since Thursday. The total is also approaching the infection caseload the district was experiencing in the early days of the omicron surge, shortly after instruction resumed from winter break.
Sacramento City Unified’s data had not been updated since Friday morning. But that update showed a slight decline, from 697 on Wednesday to 678 by the end of the week.
Sacramento City Unified has struggled to meet a self-imposed vaccine mandate and has extended its deadline for students 12 and older to be vaccinated or register for an exemption until Feb. 28.
As of Friday, 53.6% of students in the district were fully or partially vaccinated, while another 4% had filed for exemptions. Nearly 70% of Sacramento County residents are at least partially vaccinated, including 62% of residents between the ages of 12 and 19, according to county data.
Twin River Unified has seen its number of “recent” cases, defined by the district as occurring within 14 days, steadily fall. The total stood at 524 staff and students Monday, down by 90 cases since last week.
The Natomas Unified School District reported 180 students and 24 staff with active infections on Friday. Inderkum High School had the largest caseload, with 51 student infections.
Latest Sacramento-area numbers
Sacramento County has recorded 268,100 total lab-confirmed cases and 2,746 deaths from COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, according to local health officials.
The county on Monday reported the daily case rate at 63.8 per 100,000 residents, plummeting from an all-time high of 243 per 100,000 recorded Jan. 10. The case rate is now about even with the peak of the winter 2020 surge, but is continuing a rapid decline.
According to CDPH, Sacramento County’s latest test positivity rate is 12.4%.
County hospitals were treating 495 patients with confirmed COVID-19 as of Sunday, down from 595 one week earlier. The ICU total dropped to 97 from 101.
Placer County has tallied 59,466 cases and 536 virus deaths to date, last updated Friday.
Local health officials last reported the daily case rate at 110 per 100,000 for the week ending Jan. 26.
Placer’s positivity rate is 13.9%, CDPH reported Monday.
Placer County hospitals had 183 COVID-positive patients Sunday, down from 203 one week earlier. The ICU tally decreased to 35 from 40.
Yolo County has confirmed 33,487 total infections and 277 deaths from COVID-19, last updated Friday.
The county’s latest reported case rate is 147 per 100,000, for the week ending Jan. 31.
CDPH reported Yolo County’s positivity rate at 3.5%, the lowest among all of the state’s 58 counties.
Yolo County hospitals were treating 15 patients with COVID-19 on Sunday, down from 22 one week earlier. The ICU count stayed at five.
El Dorado County has reported 25,323 cumulative cases and 189 deaths from COVID-19, last updated Thursday.
El Dorado’s latest reported case rate, for the week ending Jan. 27, was 65 per 100,000.
The county had a positivity rate of 12.6%, CDPH reported Monday.
Hospitals in El Dorado County had 29 COVID-positive patients Sunday, up from 16 a week earlier. The ICU total held at five.
Sutter County has recorded 21,065 cases and 211 deaths, and Yuba County has recorded 16,529 cases with 98 deaths, according to a Thursday update from the bi-county health office.
CDPH reported Yuba County at 95 daily cases per 100,000 and Sutter County at 88 per 100,000 as of Thursday. Positivity was 21.9% in Yuba and 18.4% in Sutter.
The lone hospital serving Yuba and Sutter counties, Adventist Health and Rideout in Marysville, as of Sunday 63 patients with confirmed COVID-19, down from 79 a week earlier. The ICU total increased to 13 from eight.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 2:13 PM.
