Kern’s virus cases, hospitalizations continue rising

Kern County continues to see record-setting levels of new daily coronavirus cases, sustaining a dramatic climb in new cases set in motion following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Kern County

Public Health reported 988 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The county saw some daily case counts that high during the summer surge but the current spike in cases has lasted longer.

A recent seven-day average of new daily cases stood at 735, eclipsing this summer’s numbers, when the highest 7-day average of new cases was 602. Deaths from the virus remain at the 469 reported as of Sunday.

Hospitalizations are also increasing at a rapid rate, climbing 70 percent in a recent 14-day period, according to state hospital data.

Kern County’s total COVID-19 cases now stands at 51,612. The state reports that 295 people are hospitalized with a COVID-19 infection as of Sunday, including 66 in the ICU.

As of Monday, the 93561 ZIP code has seen 1,907 total cases since the start of the pandemic, according to county public health data. Of those, 822 people have recovered and 195 people are presumed to have recovered.

The public can find more data on the Kern County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard at https:// kernpublichealth.com/ covid-19_dashboard/.

The health department is reminding residents that you can find testing locations by going to kernpublichealth.com, clicking on the COVID-19 button and looking for “find a testing site near you.”