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SAN DIEGO (CNS) – For the fourth day in a row, San Diego County public health officials on Saturday reported a case rate of less than 100 positive COVID-19 tests per 100,000 people, however, the state said that ‘He will need to review the data before removing the county from its watch list.
Earlier, county and state officials had said if the rate stayed below 100 per 100,000 – it was 94.7 on Saturday – for three consecutive days, the county would be officially removed from that list. After an additional 14 consecutive days below that number, K-12 schools could potentially reopen for in-person instruction, depending on the settings of each school district.
In addition, 48 elementary schools have filed waivers with the county to return to school earlier.
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That timeline is now uncertain, as is the timing of some businesses reopening for domestic operations.
As the county awaits further information from Governor Gavin Newsom, public health officials reported 279 new cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths on Friday, bringing the county’s total to 34,344 cases and 626 deaths.
A woman and three men died between July 5 and August 13, and their ages ranged from the late 1950s to the late 1980s. All had underlying medical conditions.
Of the deaths reported so far during the pandemic, 96% had an underlying medical condition. According to Dr Wilma Wooten, county public health official, the main underlying causes, which contributed to the deaths, were hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, dementia / Alzheimer’s disease and kidney disease. chronic.
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Of the 11,268 tests reported on Friday, 2% came back positive, keeping the 14-day positive test rate at 4.3%, well below the state’s target of 8% or less. The 7-day running average of tests is 7,944 per day.
As signs look positive for the area, county supervisor Nathan Fletcher has warned county residents against complacency.
“We’re seeing progress, but we’re in the middle of a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line right in front of us,” he said. “Our goal is not just to drop the case rate below 100 per 100,000, but to keep it there.”
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Of the total positive cases in the county, 2,835 – or 8.3% – have required hospitalization since the start of the pandemic and 710 – or 2.1% – have been admitted to an intensive care unit.
County health officials also reported two outbreaks in the community on Friday, bringing the number of outbreaks to 25 over the past week.
The latest outbreaks were reported in one distribution warehouse and one in a health care facility, according to the county’s Health and Human Services Agency.
The number of community outbreaks remains well above the county’s goal of less than seven in seven days. A community-based outbreak is defined as three or more cases of COVID-19 in one setting and in people from different households in the past 14 days.
Latinos are still disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with this ethnic group accounting for 61.3% of all hospitalizations and 45.4% of all deaths from the disease. Latinos make up about 35% of the population of San Diego County.
A new COVID-19 test site began operating at the San Ysidro Port of Entry crossing on Wednesday, and county supervisor Greg Cox cited its immediate success and demand.
The free testing site will operate from 6.30 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday and will focus on testing essential workers and U.S. citizens who live in Tijuana, according to San Diego County health officials.
No appointment is necessary at the walk-in site, which aims to offer around 200 tests per day. People who get tested will not be asked about their immigration status or who lives with them, health officials said.
“We know the communities of South Bay have been hit the hardest by COVID-19,” Wooten said. “The location was chosen because of the increase in cases in the area and the number of people, especially essential workers who cross daily.”
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