State’s COVID-19 cases on rise again

Increase in positive tests bucks stagnant trend of recent past

COVID-19 cases in California continue to climb, furthering a pattern that’s trending in the wrong direction following two months of stagnant numbers.

The seven-day average for the state increased for the second straight day, from about 4,162 cases per day through Sunday to 4,306 on Monday. It had decreased for four straight days following an eight-day stretch in which the number went up each day.

The seven- day average no longer reflects the artificial increase of 6,300 backlogged tests in Los Angeles that were added in late October.

On Monday, California reported 5,962 new cases of the coronavirus, a big jump from 3,082 the previous day, according to data compiled by this news organization. Some counties don’t report results over the weekend, which often results in much larger numbers reported on Mondays.

State health officials have been wary of a spike in cases from the virus occurring as flu season arrives and winter closes in, but even the recent rise would have to explode to reach the state’s summer totals.

The 4,306 daily case average is less than half the state’s high-water mark of 9,856 average daily cases set on July 12.

In the Bay Area, the number of new cases have gone up over the past two weeks. Through Monday, Santa Clara County’s seven- day average for new cases was up to 137, an increase of 36 cases per day over the past two weeks. In Alameda County, the seven- day average through Monday was 100 new cases per day, up from 74 on Oct. 19.

Contra Costa County has averaged 82 new cases per day over the past week, up from 61 per day on Oct. 19, while San Francisco County has averaged 50 new cases, up from 33. San Mateo County is the lone Bay Area County to remain stable over the past two weeks, with its seven- day average of new cases going up from 42 to 43.

None of those Bay Area counties recorded any new deaths Monday. Overall, the virus has caused 1,429 deaths in those five Bay Area counties, and 1,810 total in the nine Bay Area counties.

Also as of Sunday, there were 3,241 patients in California hospitals who either have been confirmed to have COVID-19 or are suspected of having it. Of those, 823 were in intensive-care units.