Deaths in California drop to lowest point
As virus spreads unevenly around the state, average deaths have dropped off
California’s daily average death count has dropped to its lowest point in more than three months.
California’s daily average death count has dropped to its lowest point in more than three months, signaling that the midsummer’s wave of infections is finally over — even as coronavirus infections spread unevenly yet again across the state.
As of Friday, California’s seven- day daily death average hit 61, putting the state back on par with trends it experienced throughout the spring and marking the fewest deaths since July 5. Deaths hit an all-time high a month later on Aug. 6, with a weekly average of 145, and have steadily decreased since then, according to data collected by this new organization.
Within that overall decline, average deaths have dropped off particularly steeply since the start of the month, declining by about 20% since this time last week and about 28% since two weeks ago. Part of that is thanks to progress in Southern California, particularly Los Angeles, which alone accounts for about 40% of the state’s 16,504 total deaths. The county’s average deaths have petered out throughout early October, reporting one-third fewer average daily deaths as of Saturday than two weeks ago.
In the Bay Area, meanwhile, deaths have increased recently, hitting a seven- day daily death average of 14 this week — just trailing Los Angeles. However, some of that increase could be due to lags in reporting: Alameda County, which accounts for the most deaths across the 10-county region, has disclosed deaths this fall that actually date back to August.
On Friday, the region’s health officials reported 12 new deaths, including six in San Francisco County and three in Santa Clara County; no other county reported more than one death. The region accounted for about 15% of the state’s 77 total reported deaths Friday.
Wednesday, a cumulative 46 residents and 17 staff members at a Watsonville nursing facility had tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks. The five deaths at the Watsonville PostAcute Center raise the total COVID-19 deaths at the facility to nine. There have been 20 deaths confirmed countywide caused by COVID-19.
Amid overall declining deaths, stagnant statewide case counts mask disparate trends in the spread of infection across different counties. In the Bay Area, the daily average of cases in the region has fallen about 20% over the past two weeks to about 463 per day, the lowest since midJune. But elsewhere, cases are spreading fast: Rural Shasta County, for example, now sports a rate five times higher than the Bay Area when accounting for population, and about three times higher than the state. The spike has prompted state officials to demote the county to a lower tier within Gov. Gavin Newsom’s reopening system.
Los Angeles likewise has reported a recent uptick in cases. While the seven- day infection average had remained below 1,000 cases per day for most of September and early October, its average case count increased to 1,036 Friday, the highest since Sep. 7.