Reported deaths spike in Bay Area over past week
T he number of reported coronavirus deaths spiked across the Bay Area Wednesday, upping this week’s daily average and marking the most new single-day deaths disclosed in nearly a month.
T hir t y-seven new deaths in total were reported across the 10 counties, including 13 in Alameda County, eight in Santa Clara, six in Contra Costa, four in Santa Cruz, three in San Francisco, two in Solano and one in Marin, according to data collected by this news organization. That’s the most deaths publicly disclosed in one day since Sept. 15.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the deaths occurred on a single day or even recently, however. As this news organization recently reported, Alameda County in particular has reported double- digit deaths multiple times over the past month as it catches up on backlogged data that goes back to August — a phenomenon that county health officials, leaders and the coroner have struggled to fully explain. In reality, the county has not had a day since the pandemic began with more than eight deaths, and it averages no more than two deaths a day
ips in reported deaths are also common; just two days ago, for instance, the 10-county region disclosed just three deaths, with none in Alameda County.
Still, Wednesday’s unusually high number increased the Bay Area’s seven- day daily death average to nearly 15, as compared to about 11 average daily deaths this time last week. That upward trend is the reverse of California’s death numbers as a whole: The state’s seven- day death average dropped to about 66 average daily deaths as of Wednesday, the lowest it’s been in more than three months and down from a peak of about 145 in early August.
Los Angeles County trailed just behind the Bay Area Wednesday, making up 28 of the state’s 100 daily total deaths. The county — as both a population and coronavirus epicenter — has regularly made up the bulk of deaths statewide, but its seven- day average has likewise dropped down to about 19 deaths after a mid-July peak of about 50.
Daily coronavirus infections across the state have meanwhile plateaued over the past few weeks, with 3,549 new cases reported Wednesday, bringing the seven- day average to 3,237. That represents a slight decline since late September, when average daily cases topped 3,500.
The Bay Area has reported more than 109,000 coronav irus infections since the pandemic began, as compared to more than 842,000 statewide. Regionwide, 1,636 people have died from the virus, with 440 and 353 deaths reported in Alameda and Santa Clara counties respectively.