COVID-19 cases in California fall to pre-thanksgiving levels
LOS ANGELES – Coronavirus infections have plummeted to preThanksgiving levels in California, bringing renewed optimism that a wider reopening of the still-shackled economy may be just around the corner.
In a sign of how quickly conditions have improved following the devastating winter surge, Gov. Gavin Newsom hinted that more counties may emerge next week from what the state calls the purple tier – the strictest of California’s four-rung reopening roadmap for businesses and other public spaces.
“The good news – parts of the state are already beginning to open back up,” he said Tuesday. “Business is already starting to take shape – modified, nonetheless. We’re working hard to get our kids back in school.”
Even reverting to the tiered system is itself a sign of progress.
The coronavirus was so rampant statewide as of a month ago that the framework remained on the shelf for much of California in favor of expansive regional stay-at-home orders.
All those orders were lifted in late January. Counties can gradually relax pandemic-related restrictions once their COVID-19 case and testing positivity rates hit certain state-set benchmarks.
As it stands, 52 of California’s 58 counties remain in the most restrictive purple tier, meaning that indoor operations remain suspended or severely limited at many businesses and other public facilities.
Three counties – Del Norte, Mariposa and Plumas – have progressed to the less-stringent red tier, and another three – Trinity, Sierra and Alpine – have gone a step further, into the orange tier.
The most lenient yellow category remains empty at this point.
This week, Plumas County became the latest to move out of the purple tier, and Newsom said Tuesday that he expects that trend to continue.
“I anticipate a substantial number next week and even more in the subsequent weeks,” he said during an event to mark the opening of a new COVID-19 vaccination site at Cal State Los Angeles.
That’s all dependent on whether the current trend lines continue, though. While health officials have cheered the state’s collective progress, they’ve continued to warn that California isn’t out of the woods yet – and that adherence to infection-prevention protocols such as wearing masks in public and avoiding crowded settings, particularly indoors, remains a must.
“I’m always optimistic, but I’m also always cautious about the optimism,” Los Angeles County Public Health
Director Barbara Ferrer said Tuesday.
Over the last week, California has reported an average of 8,087 new coronavirus cases per day – a level not seen since mid-november, according to data compiled by the
Los Angeles Times.
That rolling average is down 53% from two weeks ago. The decline is even more dramatic when considering the worst peaks of the winter surge, when the state was recording nearly 45,000 cases a day.
The rate at which coronavirus tests are confirming infection has also nosedived – falling to 3.5% as of Tuesday. Just a few weeks ago, that statewide positivity rate was nearly 15%.
As new infections fall, so too do the number of people being hospitalized for COVID-19.
On Monday, 8,459 coronaviruspositive patients were hospitalized statewide. That’s the lowest total since Nov. 30, and down more than 60% from the height of the surge.
The story is much the same in California’s intensive care units, which were at times so deluged with COVID-19 patients that some officials openly wondered whether supplies and staff would be stressed to the point that care would need to be rationed.
Now, 2,487 COVID-19 patients are in California’s ICUS – a number not seen since early December.