California again faces rising anxiety about coronavirus spread as summer approaches
SAN FRANCISCO — California is approaching another summer amid growing anxiety over COVID-19 as outbreaks increase and officials try to determine when this new wave will crest.
Although case rates are climbing, experts note they are doing so at a more modest pace than the first omicron surge, which began spiking in December. California’s numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations are also lower than some states on the East Coast.
But with Memorial Day, graduations, proms and other seasonal events on the horizon, officials are concerned about the upward trend worsening.
“We are seeing more activity, and so it is time to break out your mask and break out your tests and just be a bit more cautious than maybe you were a month ago,” said Dr. Sara Cody, public health director and health officer for Santa Clara County. “Even if you got omicron during the omicron surge, you can still get COVID again, unfortunately.”
California is reporting about 8,000 daily coronavirus cases in the last week, up 18% over the previous week’s tally of 6,800 cases a day. The statewide test positivity rate has climbed to 4%; a week ago it was 3%.
Coronavirus-positive hospitalizations also have started to tick upward, but the number of patients needing intensive care has remained relatively stable, hovering near record lows for the pandemic.
Health officials across the state widely agree that it’s prudent to take precautions when coronavirus transmission is high — including wearing masks in indoor public spaces, being up-to-date on vaccinations and boosters, and gathering outdoors when possible or increasing ventilation when meeting indoors.
The San Francisco Bay Area has California’s highest coronavirus case rate — nearly double that of Southern California — and coronavirus levels in sewage for much of Silicon Valley have more than doubled over the last two weeks.
“They’ve been steadily climbing for about a month, and they’re above what we saw at the height of delta,” last summer’s dominant variant, Cody said of viral levels in wastewater.
Coronavirus levels in wastewater also are increasing in Yolo County, home to the University of California, Davis, said Dr. Alexander T. Yu, an epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert with the California Department of Public Health who briefed the California Medical Association on Tuesday. The upward trend, which began in March and was most prominent in the Bay Area, is now increasing in most regions, Yu said.
There is, however, some suggestion that coronavirus levels in wastewater are starting to plateau in Orange County and San Francisco, Yu said.
“At both sites, you can see that the rise in concentration appears to be tapering off and, hopefully, are starting to plateau,” he said.
The Bay Area now has a rate of 226 weekly coronavirus cases for every 100,000 residents, up 14% over the prior week. The state as a whole was reporting 144 cases a week for every 100,000 residents, and Southern California’s rate was 134. A rate of 100 or higher is considered a high rate of transmission, the worst tier, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are also seeing a pretty significant uptick in reports of outbreaks from schools, worksites and other congregate facilities,” Cody said. “Many of them are related to social gatherings.”
Los Angeles County’s coronavirus case rate is also climbing.
According to data posted Tuesday, L.A. County was averaging about 2,554 coronavirus cases a day over the last week, up from 2,054 a day for the prior week, a 24% increase. L.A. County’s weekly case rate was 177 for every 100,000 residents.
The number of coronavirus-positive people in hospitals on any given day over the last month in L.A. County have been fluctuating between roughly 210 and 270.
“To date, the increases in case numbers have not translated to increases in severe illness, with hospitalizations and deaths remaining low and decreasing,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a statement Monday. “The lower numbers of hospitalizations and deaths reflect, in large part, the protection provided by the vaccines against the variants.”
However, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer cautioned residents to continue taking precautions amid a high rate of transmission.
“This month, there will be many opportunities for gatherings, including graduations, proms, and the upcoming Memorial Day holidays,” Ferrer said in a statement. “For these occasions to not contribute to the increasing spread of omicron variants, we encourage attendees to take sensible precautions that will protect you and those around you, including staying outside as much as possible and wearing a mask when indoors.”
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