Bay counties hold steady on virus tiers
For the first time since California introduced its tier assignment system for reopening the state’s economy during the coronavirus pandemic, no Bay Area counties showed any movement.
But California’s top public health official, Dr. Mark Ghaly, warned of a concerning rise in new cases statewide during a briefing on Wednesday.
The state recorded 5,338 new coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, he said, while the 7day average for new cases bumped up to 4,471. California now has a 3.3% test positivity rate over a 14day average, and over the same period COVID19 hospitalizations jumped 13.5% while intensivecare hospitalizations rose 19.5%.
“Having this sustained doubledigit increase over many weeks will put our hospitals in a difficult position,” Ghaly said.
After some major shifts in previous weeks, only three counties in the state showed movement in the latest tier assignments, with Colusa standing out as the one that moved forward from red to the less restrictive orange tier of California’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy.”
Shasta moved back from red to purple, while Plumas county dropped from yellow to orange.
“The baseline transmission rates of COVID in our state have indeed been going up,” Ghaly said.
Following a move into the orange tier last week, Contra Costa County health officials on Wednesday said, “The average daily number of new cases in the county has grown substantially higher.”
The county recorded 40 people hospitalized with COVID19 as of Monday — more than double the number of its low point of 17 in midOctober.
Contra Costa is taking preemptive measures by modifying its local health orders to rein in some riskier activities. As of Friday, indoor dining, movie theaters and religious services will go back down to allowing 25% occupancy or 100 people, whichever is fewer ( from 50% and 200 people). Outdoor bars, indoor cardrooms and satellite wagering sites are once again prohibited from operating.
Contra Costa County also limited the number of spectators allowed at professional and collegiate sporting events to 25 people from no more than three different households, consistent with its guidance for private social gatherings.
“We believe these measures are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID in our community,” said Dr. Chris Farnitano, the county’s health officer.
Contra Costa’s most recent data show an adjusted rate of 4.9 daily cases per 100,000 people in the county. The orangetier benchmark is fewer than 4 per 100,000 people, signifying that if those numbers hold or increase for another week, it could move back into the more restrictive red tier.
Ghaly expressed hope that the state’s new testing facility, which will double capacity, would help California move forward with school reopenings. He also said that officials would offer new guidance on holiday gatherings in the coming days.
“We’re working hard to make sure that what we put out, that people receive it well,” Ghaly said.
The state continues to do better than the rest of the country.
With 91,530 new COVID19 cases, the U. S. recorded its second highest daily count on record as of Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with 1,130 new deaths. Hospitalizations across the country also reached their highest levels since early August. There are now 9.383 million reported cases.