As the second week of February draws to a close, the second week in a row also follows with consistent declines in all COVID-19 statistics in California, according to data collected by this news organization. However, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all remain at higher levels than at any time prior to this winter.
On Thursday, there were an additional 10,401 new cases and 541 fatalities from COVID-19 across California, both still substantial but lower than the week before, as the number of active hospital admissions declined by a net of another 400 patients and the total number of patients that treated in intensive care units fell below 3,000 for the first time in two months. Only 4.6% of tests were positive for COVID-19 in the past week, compared to a positivity rate of more than 14% last month during the peak of the pandemic.
With about 11,320 cases per day in the past week, the state averages about a quarter of the infections it had this time last month – at the height of the outbreak – including a 50% drop in the past two weeks. However, deaths have continued to rise at a rate of about 414 a day for the past week, nearly 25% lower than two weeks ago, but still three times higher than at any point prior to the winter wave.
Even when there are deaths, Californians continue to die in significantly higher numbers than any other state.
The total death toll in the state, which recently surpassed New York for the most in the country, went above 46,000 on Thursday. According to the New York Times, California registered nearly 1,000 more victims of COVID-19 in the past week than the state of Texas. Of the six states that made an average of at least 100 fatalities per day in the past week, only Arizona has recorded them at a higher percentage per capita.
Although California tops the list in the total number of lives lost to the virus, 30 states have lost a greater proportion of their population. Even Los Angeles County, home to 10 million people and one of the worst affected areas in California, is said to lose less than 10 states per capita, even though it has a higher total death toll than seven of them and every other county in California. the nation.
On Thursday, Los Angeles County and the rest of Southern California remained responsible for an inordinate proportion of the state’s fatalities, but 33 of the 58 counties contributed to their death toll.
The Bay Area together reported 67 across the region, led by 30 in Santa Clara County, 15 in Contra Costa County, and 13 in Alameda County.
Southern California’s share of about 69% of the statewide fatalities was lower than the total share during the pandemic Tuesday, but remained well above its share of the population. The region accounted for the four largest death tolls in the county and seven of 13 with double-digit fatalities: 158 in Los Angeles County, 59 in San Bernardino County, 51 in San Diego County, 42 in Orange County, 23 in Riverside Counties, 18 in Ventura County and 10 in Imperial County.
Now, however, Southern California counties no longer almost exclusively fill the list of highest infection rates in the state.
A month away from a statewide rate over 100, only three California counties recorded a daily per capita average of at least 50 cases per 100,000 residents in the past week. All three are sparsely populated and have combined for less than 25 cases per day for the past week. Statewide, there were fewer than 30 daily cases per 100,000 residents in the past week for the first time since before Thanksgiving, an infection rate lower than 21 other states, according to the Times.
Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles are still in the top 10, but with respective daily infection rates for the past week of 43, 35 and 34 cases per 100,000 residents.
Now more counties in the San Joaquin Valley populate the top 10 statewide: Kern, Kings, Stanislaus and Merced counties, with infection rates ranging from 39 to 45 cases per 100,000 residents.
In the wider Bay Area, no county has registered more than 30 daily cases per 100,000 residents in the past week, and all five core districts registered infection rates between 16 and 21 per 100,000.