California COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations soar
LOS ANGELES — More Californians than ever are now being infected by and hospitalized with the coronavirus as the pandemic continues its relentless march across the state.
Over the last week, the state has averaged 17,007 new cases per day, according to data compiled by the Los Angeles Times. That’s a 61.6% increase from two weeks ago, and dwarfs even the darkest days of the summertime surge, when the rolling average never topped 10,000.
To put that number into perspective, 119,050 Californians have tested positive for the coronavirus in just the past seven days — almost the equivalent of everyone living in the city of Berkeley being infected.
The state reported 21,185 new cases on Thursday alone, the second-highest figure ever for a single day. The record, 21,848, was set Monday — though that number was inflated somewhat by reporting delays over the
Thanksgiving weekend.
The unprecedented case counts aren’t merely a byproduct of ramped-up testing, either. The average rate at which coronavirus tests are coming back positive has also soared recently, from 5.2% two weeks ago to 7.7%.
With case numbers that are historically high and show no signs of relenting, California officials are turning their eyes toward the state’s hospital system, which they’ve long warned is at risk of being flooded by a wave of coronavirus patients.
Statewide, 8,831 Californians were hospitalized with a confirmed case as of Wednesday — an all-time high and nearly double the number seen two weeks ago. There are also more coronavirus-positive patients in intensive care, 2,066, than ever before.
“The bottom line is if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.
“If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see a death rate climb, more lives lost.”
After a months-long slide, the number of Californians dying from COVID-19 has started to climb in recent weeks.
California reported 148 additional deaths Thursday — the highest-single day total since Sept. 29, Times’ data show.
The state has also seen more than 100 confirmed COVID-19 fatalities on each of the last three days. That hasn’t happened since early September.
Over the last week, the state has averaged 81 deaths per day.
More than 19,600 Californians have died from COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, and should the current rate continue, the total death toll would surpass 20,000 by early next week.
“This is the most challenging moment since the beginning of this pandemic,” Newsom said. “This is the time ... to put aside your doubt, to put aside your skepticism, to put aside your cynicism, to put aside your ideology, to put aside any consideration except this: Lives are in the balance. Lives will be lost unless we do more than we’ve ever done.”