California’s death toll hits 15K

Number of coronavirus fatalities fourth-highest among states

LOS ANGELES — California’s death count from the coronavirus surpassed 15,000 on Sunday even as the state saw widespread improvement in infection levels.

A tally by Johns Hopkins University put California’s death toll at 15,026, the fourth-highest in the country. New York has sustained by far the most deaths — 33,081 — followed by New Jersey, which has about half as many. Texas is third.

California, the nation’s most populous state, has the most confirmed virus cases in the U.S. with about 775,000, but key indicators have fallen dramatically since a spike that started after Memorial Day weekend prompted statewide shutdowns of businesses.

The state’s infection rate has fallen to 3 percent in the last week, the lowest level since the first days of the pandemic. Hospitalizations have dropped below 2,700, the lowest since early April, and the number of patients in the intensive care unit has dropped below 850. Falling ICU counts should help lower the death rate since those patients are the most likely to succumb to the virus.

With figures falling, California last month instituted a new four-tier system for counties to reopen more businesses and activities. Most counties — including Los Angeles, the state’s most populous with 10 million residents — remain in the most restrictive level, but some could move to a lower level when the state updates the ratings on Tuesday.

A notable exception is San Diego County, which has seen a spike of cases fueled partly by an outbreak among San Diego State University students. It is poised to return to the most restrictive level.

In other developments:

Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut has tested positive for the new coronavirus and will quarantine for 14 days, she announced Sunday on Twitter.

■ After going to 2 urgent care centers yesterday, I finally got an appointment at a 3rd site and was tested this morning,” the first-term Democrat said. Hayes said she has no COVID-19 symptoms “except for breathing issues which are being monitored.”

Hayes, 47, sought testing after one of her staff members tested positive for the virus on Saturday.

■ The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says more than 100,000 people in the state have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Officials on Sunday confirmed 1,665 positive tests in the last day, for a total of 101,227 cases. One new death was reported, for a total of 1,242 fatalities due to complications from COVID-19.

Of the 8,320 test results processed in the last day, 20 percent were positive.