How many COVID cases are there in Bay Area and California

What are the latest developments?

A day after Mayor London Breed’s tearful plea to school and union leaders to reopen classrooms, the teachers’ union announced the terms under which they would return to personal education. The proposal did not include specific dates for return to classrooms and focused on the status of the level and availability of vaccinations for teachers and staff. This was just the last back-and-forth in a year-long saga that recently saw the city sue the school district in hopes of getting students back on campus.

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How many people are hospitalized?

The number of people hospitalized in California for COVID-19 dropped more than 16% last week with less than 15,000 patients statewide compared to nearly 22,000 in late December. The number of ICU patients fell below 4,000 for the first time since December 24. The Bay Area reported a decrease of nearly 16% in the total number of patients last week and a decrease of more than 13% in ICU patients. However, the state still reports 0% availability of ICUs.

Due to limited testing capacity, not all hospital patients with COVID-19 symptoms have been tested. While not all suspected cases will eventually test positive, including these patients can provide a more comprehensive picture of the demands placed on hospitals. Even with the suspected cases, hospitals have not seen the dreaded increase in virus-related patients.

Where will the Bay Area counties stand at the reopening?

With San Francisco enabling outdoor dining and other activities, such as personal care, on Jan. 28, all of the Bay Area counties have reverted to the state’s color-coded tier system to guide the reopening. All of the Bay Area counties, like most of the state, are in the most restrictive purple tier. Check the reopen tracker to see what’s allowed in each tier and province. When the regional stay-at-home order was lifted on January 25, the four-week projections for ICU availability in all regions were above the 15% threshold. As of Monday, four of the five regions remained below that threshold, with the Bay Area region having 8.2% availability, according to the state website. Southern California and San Joaquin Valley still report 0% availability.

What are the current trends in the Bay Area?

The total number of coronavirus cases reported in the Bay Area last week fell by 26% from the week before, a second consecutive week of a major drop. The average daily number of cases has fallen from more than 4,400 three weeks ago to less than 2,300 last week. After massive increases in both November and December, the total number of cases reported in the Bay Area in January was nearly identical to December, dropping less than 1%. Three of the nine counties, including Santa Clara, which recently exceeded 100,000 cases, reported fewer cases in January than in December. Of the six counties that reported increases, only Marin reported a jump of more than 10%. The number of virus-related deaths in the Bay Area was 419, down from the record of 466 reported the week before, but still higher than in previous months. There were 1,677 deaths reported in January compared to 608 reported in December, with Marin, San Francisco and Santa Clara seeing all deaths more than tripled last month.

What is the status of testing in California?

State laboratories processed just under 2 million results in the week ending January 31 with a 6.7% positivity rate, which was lower than the 8.1% reported last week and less than half of what it was in early January . Nationally, the positivity rate was just above 8%. The state used 8% as a target for reopening in its original plan and now uses positivity rate along with case rate (adjusted based on test levels) to determine tier status. As more people are tested, the positive test rate provides a clearer picture of how many people are carrying the virus, including those without symptoms. Several types of tests are now available in California, with home versions slowly becoming available. Here’s an overview of your options.

How does California compare to the rest of the nation?

The seven-day average for new cases in the US continued its downward trend, dropping below 150,000 for the first time since Nov. 14. While the total number of cases is now over 26 million, the number reported in January was nearly 300,000 fewer than reported in December. California reported a drop of more than 5% in January compared to December with about 60,000 fewer cases. The daily average for the week ending Jan. 31 was just under 20,000, the first time below that figure since the week ending Nov. 29. However, the number of deaths remained high with more than 3,800 reported last week, up from nearly 300 from the previous week. Global estimates are that 55% of the more than 103 million positive patients have recovered. Chargebacks figures are not available for the Bay Area or California.

Findings point to earlier onset of a US outbreak

An autopsy report showing that the first death related to COVID-19 occurred on Feb. 6 in Santa Clara County and not Feb. 26 in Washington, supports research indicating the outbreak started much earlier than we knew and before health officials began tracking data.

300 cases had been reported in the Bay Area when shelter orders were entered on March 16. But studies and disease models suggest that more than 10,000 people in the Bay Area were likely infected by then. That investigation, along with previous deaths identified in Santa Clara County, indicates how far behind the U.S. is in recognizing the virus outbreak.

The data used here examines the spread of the virus and its possible containment dating back to when officials knew the virus had arrived in the United States. While this data is limited and flawed in their ability to provide a complete history of the virus, it is all health officials have, and this underscores the importance of more testing to get a clearer picture of the current situation.