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Photo by Matt Hoffman
Above: A lab worker prepares samples to be tested for COVID-19 in San Diego, February 28, 2020.
With the Delta variant of the coronavirus continuing to rise, the latest COVID-19 figures from San Diego County show 979 new cases and seven additional hospitalizations but no additional deaths.
According to data released by the County Health and Human Services Agency on Sunday, the number of intensive care patients increased from three to 148, but that still marked an increase of nearly 100 people since the 19th. July, when 52 people were in intensive care beds with COVID-19.
The total number of people hospitalized with the virus stands at more than 750. A month ago, the number was 200.
Sunday’s data brought the county’s total to 323,591 cases and 3,848 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
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A total of 14,722 tests were reported on Sunday, and the percentage of new positive cases over the past week was 8.5%.
Meanwhile, Scripps Health said on Friday it was facing “significant” labor shortages amid the latest wave, with more positions open than before the pandemic.
The health system has said the number of patients is increasing, both in COVID-19 cases and in non-COVID-19 care, but some medical procedures have had to be delayed due to understaffing.
“The COVID pandemic has taken a heavy toll on healthcare workers across the country, and many have decided to leave the field altogether for reasons such as fatigue and burnout,” said Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health.
“We are doing everything we can to fill vacancies and shifts, but options are currently limited in all areas of health care, so we are doing what is necessary to ensure that we have staff available for our staff. most urgent cases. “
Scripps Health is seeking to fill 1,309 full-time and part-time openings, up from 832 openings in August 2019.
According to Scripps, there were 173 COVID-positive patients at Scripps’ five hospital campuses on Friday, compared to 13 COVID patients hospitalized on June 15, when California removed much of its pandemic restrictions.
As medical staff assess which procedures will be delayed based on clinical factors, demand for services is increasing as Scripps is also seeing patients whose care has already been delayed during the pandemic, according to Van Gorder.
“We ask people to please get vaccinated. Wear masks. Do what you can to beat this pandemic,” Van Gorder said. “We in healthcare simply cannot continue to help this community and our patients in the way we need to if we are faced with an ever-increasing number of COVID cases in addition to the large number of patients. that we are already dealing with. and the level of staff we have. “
San Diego County’s case rate per 100,000 population was 28.7 for the general population, but this can be further analyzed at just six for fully vaccinated residents and 55.7 for those not fully vaccinated, according to the data.
That number has more than increased tenfold since July 7, when the average daily case rate was just 2.7 per 100,000.
Authorities expect the number of reported cases to continue to rise as more schools and businesses require COVID-19 testing.
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