Live Blog: San Diego County Reports 2,532 New COVID-19 Infections
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Here’s Where COVID-19 Outbreaks Have Happened In San Diego County
San Diego County Reports 2,532 New COVID-19 Infections
– 6:08 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020
San Diego County public health officials reported 2,532 new COVID-19 infections and 31 additional deaths due to the illness Tuesday, as the state extended regional stay-at-home orders.
The new cases mark the 29th consecutive day with more than 1,000 new infections, and the 20th overall day with more than 2,000 new cases. The 3,000 mark has been crossed five times.
The state’s regional order, which covers an 11-county Southern California area, took effect at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 6 and was set to expire Monday. But with the region’s intensive-care unit capacity at hospitals still officially listed at 0%, the order was extended indefinitely.
The state’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said four-week projections indicate incoming COVID-19 patients are expected to continue exceeding ICU capacity in the region. Ghaly said the four-week projections are evaluated daily, and the region can emerge from the stay-at- home order whenever the projection indicates a region’s ICU capacity will rise above 15%. – City News Service
Regional Stay-At-Home Order Extended For Southern California, San Joaquin Valley
– 12:25 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020
Regional stay-at-home orders are extended for the regions of Southern California and San Joaquin Valley, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced Tuesday.
The stay-home orders first imposed three weeks ago were set to expire Monday, but the dire intensive care unit bed shortage prompted the order extension.
Ghaly did not say how long the order is extended.
Lifting of the stay-at-home orders requires regions to have ICU capacity projections to be above or equal to 15%. Southern California’s ICU availability is currently at 0.0%. The number does not necessarily mean there are no ICU beds available since the state adjusts the percentage downward if counties have a higher-than-expected ratio of COVID-19 patients occupying ICU space.
The worst is expected to come in the next few weeks after Christmas and New Year’s travelers return home. California hit 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Christmas Eve, becoming the first state to reach the grim milestone. State officials said Sunday afternoon the stay-home orders were likely to be extended but did not make a definitive ruling. – KPBS Staff, Associated Press
San Diego County Reports 1,751 COVID-19 Infections As It Awaits Newsom’s Order
– 5:39 p.m., Monday, Dec. 28, 2020
San Diego County public health officials reported 1,751 new COVID-19 infections Monday — marking the 28th day with more than 1,000 cases — as leaders around the region await Gov. Gavin Newsom’s likely formal extension of a regional stay-at-home order.
That order, which covers an 11-county Southern California area, took effect at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 6 and was set to expire Monday. But with the region’s intensive-care unit capacity at hospitals still effectively listed at 0%, Newsom said the order is all but certain to be extended.
A formal announcement had been expected Monday, but was delayed until Tuesday. Newsom said the state was still compiling hospital and case data, and completing hospital-demand projections for the next four weeks.
He noted, however, that based upon large number of people who appeared to have ignored warnings against travel over the Christmas holiday — and those who will likely so do over the upcoming New Year’s holiday, the state is bracing for a “surge on top of a surge, arguably on top of, again, another surge.” — City News Service
San Dieguito School District Board Reverses Decision To Reopen In January
– 5:20 p.m., Monday, Dec. 28, 2020
One of the few San Diego County school districts that had scheduled a January reopening is now putting those plans on hold after its teachers union filed a lawsuit alleging district officials were not abiding by state guidelines for resuming in-person learning.
Earlier this month, the San Dieguito Union High School District unveiled its ambitious reopening plan to allow students to return to campus part-time starting Jan. 4th and full-time starting Jan. 27th.
The school board rescinded that plan on Monday in a 4-to-1 vote after the teachers union sued the district, arguing that it could not reopen schools while the county was still in the state’s most restrictive purple tier for COVID-19 cases. – Joe Hong, KPBS Education Reporter
Reginal Stay-At-Home Order Expected To Be Extended Tuesday
– 1:36 p.m., Monday, Dec. 28, 2020
A regional stay-at-home order in effect across Southern California due to surging COVID-19 hospitalizations is expected to be formally extended Tuesday, continuing a ban on all gatherings of people from different households and strict capacity limits at many businesses.
The order, which covers an 11-county Southern California area, took effect at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 6 and was set to expire Monday. But with the region’s intensive-care unit capacity at hospitals still effectively listed at 0%, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the order is all but certain to be extended.
A formal announcement had been expected Monday, but Newsom said the state was still compiling hospital and case data, and completing hospital- demand projections for the next four weeks. He said the official announcement on extending the order will be made Tuesday by Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s Health and Human Services secretary.
Newsom noted that COVID hospital admissions have begun to plateau across much of the state — with the exception of Southern California, with Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties continuing to be the hardest hit.
Los Angeles County has rapidly become the epicenter of the pandemic in the state, with the state reporting more than 7,100 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including more than 1,400 in intensive-care unit beds. Newsom said 96% of Los Angeles County hospitals diverted ambulances to other facilities at some point over the weekend due to overcrowding in emergency rooms — up from a normal average of 33% of hospitals going on diversion.
According to the governor, Los Angeles County hospitals on average spent 16 hours on diversion over the weekend, unable to find space for emergency patients.
The Southern California region covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Most broadly, the order bars gatherings of people from different households. — City News Service
San Diego County Reports 3,132 New Covid-19 Infections, No New Deaths
– 4:47 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020
San Diego County public health officials have reported 3,132 new COVID-19 infections — the 27th consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases.
On Sunday, there were no new virus-related deaths reported.
Sunday was the 19th day with more than 2,000 new cases.
Another 50 people also were hospitalized, according to Sunday’s data, and another seven patients were sent to intensive care units.
The county’s cumulative cases increased to 145,779 and the death toll remained at 1,402.
Ten new community outbreaks were confirmed on Saturday. There have been 60 confirmed outbreaks in the last seven days and 250 cases associated with those outbreaks.
The 11-county Southern California region is still reporting zero available ICU beds. Current stay-at-home orders took effect at 11:59 Dec. 6, and were originally set to end on Monday.
– City News Service
San Diego County Reports 2,686 New COVID-19 Infections
– 4:33 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020
San Diego County public health officials have reported 2,686 new COVID-19 infections — the 26th consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases.
On Saturday, there were no new virus-related deaths reported.
Saturday was the 18th day with more than 2,000 new cases.
Another 35 people also were hospitalized, according to Saturday’s data, and another two were sent to intensive care units.
The county’s cumulative cases increased to 142,647 and the death toll remained at 1,402.
– City News Service
San Diego Sees 25th Consecutive Day With More Than 1,000 New COVID-19 Cases
– 9:43 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020
San Diego County public health officials have reported 3,006 new COVID-19 infections — the 25th consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases.
On Friday, there were also 20 virus-related deaths reported.
Friday was the 18th day with more than 2,000 new cases. The six highest daily case counts have all occurred in the past week.
Another 27 people also were hospitalized, according to Friday’s data, and another 10 were sent to intensive care units.
The county’s cumulative cases increased to 136,961 and the death toll to 1,402.
The 11-county Southern California region is still reporting zero available ICU beds. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the regional stay-at-home order he issued for all of Southern California will almost assuredly be extended beyond next week’s expiration date.
Current stay-at-home orders took effect at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 6, and were originally set to end on Monday. Newsom did not give an indication of when a decision on extending the orders will be made or much longer they will remain in place.
For testing sites, click here.
– City News Service
San Diego County Reports 2,259 New COVID-19 Cases
– 5:08 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020
San Diego County health officials reported 2,259 COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the region’s total to 136,955.
So far, 5,563 of all cases, or about 4.1% have required hospitalization.
1,168 or 0.9% of all cases and 21% of hospitalized cases had to be admitted to an intensive care unit.
The county also reported 32 new COVID-19 related deaths, 29 of which had underlying medical conditions.
– KPBS Staff
Appeals Court Extends Stay On Injunction To Reopen San Diego County Restaurants
-:47 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020
An appeals court Wednesday extended a stay on a San Diego judge’s ruling that would have allowed county restaurants and live adult entertainment venues to reopen amid COVID-19 restrictions.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal will hear oral arguments Jan. 19 in the case originally brought on by two San Diego strip clubs, which challenged the state’s pandemic restrictions.
The case was expanded to encompass all county restaurants through a preliminary injunction issued by San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil.
–City News Service
County Officials Urge Caution Around Holidays As They Report 2,598 COVID Cases
-2:46 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020
San Diego County public health officials urged residents to avoid large holiday gatherings as they reported 2,598 new COVID-19 infections and 39 deaths from the virus.
County Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Greg Cox pointed to a massive uptick in cases after Thanksgiving — including the region’s highest daily total coming three weeks after the holiday with 3,611 cases reported Friday.
“We cannot ignore the reality that we are in a bad place right now,” Cox said. “We’re making a special plea to avoid large gatherings with those outside your immediate family. This one time, this one year.”
He said if people have already traveled, to please be extra cautious about spreading the virus.
County COVID-19 testing sites will be open Christmas Eve, but will close at 4 p.m.
On Christmas, the sites at University of San Diego, San Marcos and the Tubman Chavez Community Center will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
A complete list of sites, how to make appointments and hours can be found online.
–City News Service
San Diego County Reports 2,381 New COVID-19 Cases As More Vaccines Arrive
-3:49 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020
San Diego County public health officials Tuesday reported 28 new deaths and 2,381 new COVID-19 infections, the fewest reported since Dec. 14.
Tuesday’s reported cases mark the 22nd consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases. It was also the 15th day overall with more than 2,000 new cases. With 3,252 COVID-19 infections reported Monday, 3,611 Friday, 3,493 Saturday, 2,807 Wednesday and 2,604 cases Thursday, the five highest daily case counts have all occurred in the past week.
The county’s cumulative cases increased to 132,098.
The county’s death toll is now 1,311: 16 men and 12 women died between Dec. 9 and Dec. 21, and their ages ranged from early 50s to mid-90s. All but one had underlying medical conditions.
Another 35 people were hospitalized as of Tuesday, with six additional people sent to an intensive care unit.
Meanwhile, UC San Diego Health received its first shipment of 5,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 Tuesday. This shipment follows receipt on December 15 of the first 2,925 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
“With two vaccines in hand, we can redouble our efforts to provide protection from infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” said Patty Maysent, CEO of UCSD Health. “These are still early days, however. We must continue to mask, distance, wash our hands and follow all public health measures until everyone has been offered the chance to vaccinate and we have gained significant immunity. That day will come. This day is a big step toward it.”
–City News Service
San Diego County Announces Holiday Schedule For Free COVID-19 Testing
-3 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020
San Diego County has announced it will continue to offer free COVID-19 testing seven days a week throughout the holidays, but with fewer locations and shorter hours on certain days.
All the testing sites will be open until 4 p.m. on Dec. 24th and 31st. Only three will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 25, Christmas Day: At the University of San Diego, CSU San Marcos and the Tubman-Chavez Community Center in Southeastern San Diego.
Five testing sites will be open on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Those sites are the Tubman-Chavez Community Center, the Lemon Grove Community Center, the University of San Diego, the Imperial Beach Sports Park Recreation Center and the Linda Rhoades Recreation Center in Vista.
Health officials said walk-in testing sites do not require appointments, but holiday testing demand is expected to be high, with wait times expected to exceed an hour at times.
–KPBS Staff
San Diego County Reports 3,252 New COVID-19 Cases, Three New Deaths
-8:02 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020
San Diego County public health officials reported 3,252 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, while virus-related hospitalizations continued to increase as the first batch of Moderna vaccines arrived in the area.
The number of new cases marked the third-highest daily increase since the pandemic began, following only Friday’s 3,611 and Saturday’s 3,493. Together with Wednesday’s 2,807 cases and Thursday’s 2,604, the five highest daily case counts have all occurred in the past week.
Monday’s total also marked the third time the number of daily infections has surpassed 3,000 and the 21st consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases. It was also the 14th day overall with more than 2,000 new cases.
The new cases gave the county a cumulative total of 129,717 confirmed cases throughout the pandemic.
The county also announced three more COVID-19 deaths, raising the overall death toll to 1,283.
Another 32 people were hospitalized as of Monday, with one additional person sent to an intensive care unit. A total of 1,296 people were hospitalized due to the virus, with 334 of those in ICUs — both records.
A drop of 43 non-coronavirus patients in the region’s ICUs freed up space Monday. Roughly 22% of ICU beds were available in San Diego County, compared to 19% reported Sunday.
There was one new outbreak reported, which brings the total number of outbreaks within the last seven days to 40.
– City News Service
San Diego County Reports 3,493 New COVID-19 Cases, No New Deaths
-6:17 P.m., Monday, Dec. 21, 2020
San Diego County public health officials reported 3,252 COVID-19 infections Monday, while virus-related hospitalizations continued to increase as the first batch of Moderna vaccines arrived in the area.
The number of daily infections reported Monday marked the third- highest daily increase since the pandemic began, following only Friday’s 3,611 and Saturday’s 3,493. Together with Wednesday’s 2,807 cases and Thursday’s 2,604, the top five-highest daily case counts have all occurred in the past week.
Monday’s total also marked the third time the number of daily infections has surpassed 3,000 and the 21st consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases. It was also the 14th day overall with more than 2,000 new cases.
The new cases gave the county a cumulative total of 129,717 confirmed cases from throughout the pandemic.
The county also announced three more COVID-related deaths, raising the overall death toll to 1,283.
– City News Service
Cruise Ships Will Begin Returning To San Diego This Week Without Passengers
-4:42 P.m., Monday, Dec. 21, 2020
Cruise ships are scheduled to return to the Port of San Diego this week and through the new year, as part of an effort by the cruise lines to reestablish ships in U.S. waters as a prerequisite to resume cruising in a post-COVID-19 world, it was announced Monday.
Five Holland America Line ships and one Princess Cruises ship are scheduled to arrive beginning Wednesday, periodically docking at the B Street Cruise Terminal for fuel, food, supplies and services. At this time, none of the vessels will be carrying passengers or conducting any sailings, according to local port officials.
To resume cruises after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems it safe in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ships must reestablish operations in United States waters to meet CDC and U.S. Coast Guard guidelines.
According to port officials, time spent docked in San Diego will be limited. Each ship is scheduled to dock at B Street the morning of their scheduled arrival date and depart that evening.
– City News Service
San Diego County Releases Reports Detailing Resident Health Data, Areas To Improve
-4:42 P.m., Monday, Dec. 21, 2020
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency Monday published two reports showing the progress made and work still needed to reduce health inequalities in the region and improve the quality of life for San Diegans.
The first report — the Community Health Assessment — includes morbidity, demographic and health data of residents and communities in the region. The data was used to develop the strategic framework of the second report — the Community Health Improvement Plan.
The two documents, as well as Public Health Services’ Strategic Plan, are a requirement for national, voluntary public health accreditation.
“These plans are reflections of the leadership and dedication of our communities to the lives of our fellow San Diegans,” said Nick Macchione, director of the HHSA. “These regional plans will continue to be living documents that evolve to reflect future strategies within each region to create safe, healthy and thriving communities.”
In the Community Health Improvement Plan, regional community leadership teams produced “enrichment plans,” many of them already underway, that lay out priorities to help each region address the most important issues in their communities.
– City News Service
Gov. Newsom Says Stay-At-Home Order Expected To Be Extended
-11:29 a.m., Monday, Dec. 21, 2020
With regional intensive-care unit capacity still officially considered to be zero, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the regional stay-at-home order imposed by the state for the entirety of Southern California will almost assuredly be extended beyond next week’s expiration date.
“We are likely, I think it’s pretty self-evident, going to need to extend those regional dates,” Newsom said. “… Based upon all the data and based upon all these trend lines, it is very likely based on those current trends that we’ll need to extend that stay at home order, (which) you recall was a three-week order when we announced it.”
The regional stay-at-home order for the 11-county Southern California region took effect at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 6, and was originally set to end on Dec. 28. Newsom did not give an indication of exactly when a decision on extending the order will be made, or much long the order will remain in place.– City News Service
Here’s Where COVID-19 Outbreaks Have Happened In San Diego County
–8:07 a.m., Monday, Dec. 21, 2020
Community outbreaks of COVID-19 have touched every corner of San Diego County and all types of establishments over the past nine months, but they are most prevalent in big box stores, restaurants and group living situations like nursing homes and jails, according to county outbreak records obtained exclusively by KPBS.
If you’ve gone out at all since the pandemic first struck, you quite likely walked into a place where an outbreak occurred, according to the KPBS analysis of 1,006 outbreak records dating from March through the end of November. For example:
– At least 208 outbreaks have occurred in restaurants, with popular chains like Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, Denny’s and The Broken Yolk Cafe having multiple outbreaks each.
– At least 205 outbreaks have occurred in businesses with services that run the gamut from car repair to pet care to banking and shipping.
– At least 125 outbreaks have occurred in large retailers and grocery stores like Walmart, Costco, Target, Home Depot and Trader Joe’s.
However, just because you visited a place that had an outbreak doesn’t necessarily mean you were exposed to the virus and doesn’t mean you can catch COVID-19 by going there now.
— City News Service
San Diego County Reports 3,493 New COVID-19 Cases, No New Deaths
–8:08 p.m., Monday, Dec. 21, 2020
San Diego County public health officials reported 3,493 COVID-19 infections as of Saturday and no new deaths, bringing the county’s total to 126,465 cases and the death toll remaining at 1,280.
Prior to Sunday’s report, a record 3,611 COVID-19 infections were reported Friday. The cases surpassed the previous record set one week ago — 2,867 on Friday, Dec. 11 — by 744 new cases.
Saturday’s total marks the second time the number of daily infections has surpassed 3,000 as well as the 19th consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases and the 12th day overall with more than 2,000 new cases.
The top four-highest daily cases have all occurred in the past week, with Wednesday’s 2,807 cases, Thursday’s 2,604, Friday’s 3,611 and Saturday’s 3,493.
The county on Sunday reported 1,264 hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients and an additional 320 COVID-19 patients in ICUs.
There were seven new outbreaks reported, which brings the total number of outbreaks within the last seven days to 40.
– City News Service
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