Sacramento’s COVID-19 surge may be easing; infections up in other parts of California
Coronavirus numbers are showing early signs of improvement in the Sacramento region and some Bay Area counties, while infection and hospitalization numbers continue to climb in Southern California and other parts of the state.
The California Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported the latest daily case rate for COVID-19 at 48.5 per 100,000, up 29% compared to the previous week and the state’s highest rate recorded since the first week of February.
Statewide test positivity, however, decreased slightly from 16.3% to 16.1% in the past week, according to CDPH data, as testing volume rebounded slightly following the July 4 holiday.
The decline is modest, after positivity had been steadily climbing for more than three months from a low point of 1.4% in early April. More contagious versions of the omicron variant have emerged and come to dominate since then, prompting and prolonging the current surge.
Most of the state’s highest positivity readings, aside from very sparsely populated counties like Sierra and Del Norte, are now in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. Tuolumne, Riverside, Merced, Fresno, Stanislaus, Kings, San Bernardino and Orange counties all ranged from 19% to 23% positivity as of Tuesday’s state data update.
The four-county capital region is below the state average for positivity, with El Dorado at 15%, Placer at 14%, Sacramento at 13% and Yolo at 11%. Placer County’s rate fell by 2.6 percentage points in the past week and Sacramento’s by 1 percentage point, state data show.
Virus levels detected in wastewater are also improving in Davis and are showing early signs of decline in Sacramento, according to sewage data tracked by a Stanford-based research group. Transmission trends tend to show up in wastewater readings several days earlier than in traditional test results, though wastewater isn’t being monitored in all parts of California.
CDPH on Tuesday reported 4,676 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in California hospital beds including 528 in intensive care units, the highest totals since Feb. 25 and March 8, respectively.
Hospitalizations continue to climb, state health data shows, in Southern California counties including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino; Fresno County in the Central Valley; and San Francisco and Alameda counties in the Bay Area.
Hospital numbers have plateaued for about the past month in Sacramento and Placer counties, as well as the Bay Area counties of Contra Costa and San Mateo.
Health officials and hospital leaders in multiple parts of the state have said in recent weeks that more patients are being admitted to hospitals for reasons other than the virus, and testing positive upon screening.
Estimates have varied widely, though, with reports of anywhere from 50% to 90% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 being so-called “incidental” positives.
The CDC in a weekly update Thursday classified 42 of California’s 58 counties in the “high” community level for COVID-19 danger.
Los Angeles County plans to return to an indoor mask mandate Friday, if it remains at the CDC’s high level this week.
Health officials in other counties, including Sacramento and Yolo, have said they will not consider returning to local mask orders unless there is a threat of hospitals being overwhelmed.
Latest on subvariants: BA.5 still dominant
The BA.5 subvariant continues to grow increasingly dominant nationwide, according to a weekly update Tuesday from the CDC, recorded at an estimated 78% of cases across the U.S. last week.
Its sister variant, BA.4, accounted for another 14%. The remaining portion consisted of the previously dominant BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 strains of omicron.
In the CDC region including California, BA.5 made up 80% of cases last week and BA.4 comprised 12%.
The new BA.2.75 subvariant, which has been spreading rapidly in India, has now been detected in Los Angeles County as well as the Bay Area, health officials said.
The CDC is not yet reporting proportions of BA.2.75 in the U.S. Researchers are still determining if BA.2.75 has the potential to overtake BA.5 as the dominant variant.
Sacramento-area numbers by county
Sacramento County’s latest case rate is 37.6 per 100,000 residents, state health officials said in Tuesday’s update, a 17% increase from one week earlier, though the July 4 holiday affected the earlier week’s total.
Hospitals in Sacramento County were treating 206 virus patients Monday, state data show, down from 208 one week earlier. The intensive care unit increased to 26 from 24.
Placer County’s latest case rate is 26.7 per 100,000 residents, an 6% decrease from one week earlier.
Hospitals in Placer County were treating 94 virus patients Monday, up from 84 one week earlier. The ICU total decreased to five from eight.
Yolo County’s latest case rate is 30.9 per 100,000 residents, an 8% decrease from one week earlier.
Hospitals in Yolo County were treating three virus patients Monday, down from eight a week earlier. The ICU total decreased to one from four.
El Dorado County’s latest case rate is 26.8 per 100,000 residents, a 23% increase from one week earlier.
Hospitals in El Dorado County were treating 12 virus patients Monday, down from 15 a week earlier. The ICU total decreased to one from three.
Sutter County’s latest case rate is 37.8 per 100,000 residents, up 21% from last week, and Yuba County’s is 38 per 100,000, up 30%, state health officials reported Tuesday.
The only hospital in Yuba County, which serves the Yuba-Sutter bicounty area, was treating 18 virus patients Monday, up from 10 one week earlier. The ICU total dropped to zero from one.
