California reported over 12,800 coronavirus cases on Tuesday. This is considered the highest daily tally the state has recorded so far, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
California beats New York in the number of coronavirus cases with over 409,500 cases as of Wednesday. Data from Johns Hopkins University suggests that California is now the state with the most cases in the US. However, in terms of death toll, New York has reported over four times the number of deaths.
“We’re a state, again, size of 21 states combined, so it’s not surprising now in some respects as we’ve begun to reopen key sectors of our economy,” Newsom said at a news briefing. “People continue to mix and people continue to come in close contact with others that may have contracted this disease that our numbers would start to go up in total now.”
According to Newsom, the state has average 9,420 additional cases based on a seven-day average. The coronavirus outbreak killed 115 people but that figure shifts daily.
The positivity rate, or the number of Covid-19 infections to total tests performed, is at around 7.4% over the last 14 days despite increased testing.
He noted that California has been recruiting more health-care personnel, personal protective equipment, and contact tracers for months to help battle a potential outbreak.
The governor also ordered the closure of fitness centers, personal care services, worship services, offices, hair salons, malls, and barbershops for all counties that are on the monitoring list of California for three or more consecutive days.
“What I’m afraid of is the complacency,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said during a news conference Friday. “People are tired of the virus, but the virus is not tired of us.”
Newsom pointed out that there are now 30 counties on the list, such as San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange counties.
He said the state reported 8,358 new cases on Sunday. The positivity rate, or the percentage of tests returning positive, has increased up to 7.4%.
“The data suggests not everyone is acting with common sense,” Newsom said at a press conference.
He also stressed the increase in the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals, increasing by 28% over a two-week period. Hospitals now have 6,485 Covid-19 patients.
Newsom told the public to not interact with people outside their households and urged them to meet outside if they do meet.
School reopening in California
Meanwhile, two of California’s largest school districts, Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified, released a joint statement about school reopening in the fall.
According to the school districts, much of the research surrounding the coronavirus and children remains uncertain and most of the reopening guidelines are “vague and contradictory.”
“One fact is clear: those countries that have managed to safely reopen schools have done so with declining infection rates and on-demand testing available. California has neither,” according to the statement.
