Bay Area health officials warn of tougher COVID-19 rules as a state as hospitalization rates in California triple

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – California’s COVID-19 cases have been increasing at an alarming rate for weeks and have resulted in further safety restrictions in the Bay Area as the holiday season approaches.

California recorded nearly 12,000 new cases on Saturday, for a total of 1,183,320 infections since the pandemic began in March.

Not only are cases increasing, but hospitalization rates are worrying health officials in the Bay Area.

RELATED: California Sees Dramatic Increase in COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Says Health Secretary

As of Saturday, November 28, the state reported a total of 6,972 coronavirus hospitalizations and 1,638 intensive care unit patients. Just a month earlier, on October 28, the state had recorded 2,342 hospitalizations and 663 intensive care patients. This is almost triple the number of patients. California Health and Human Services secretary Dr Mark Ghaly said on Tuesday hospitalizations had increased 81% in the past two weeks. ICU hospitalizations increased by 57%.

Hospitalization figures in the Bay Area reflect the condition. A month ago, 262 people were hospitalized with COVID in the Bay Area; yesterday that number had nearly tripled to 759, officials said.

The seven-day average of positive tests has dropped from 3.3% to 6.0% in the past month. The 14-day average fell from 3% to 6%, figures from the California Department of Public Health revealed.

Santa Clara County health officials estimate that hospitals in the county will meet or exceed capacity in the coming week. The county recorded 760 new cases on Saturday – breaking the previous record of 215. There was also a record 239 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 71 in intensive care units.

RELATED: ‘This Pandemic Is Like A Bullet Train’: Santa Clara Co. Announces New Restrictions As COVID-19 Cases Rise

Given the dire numbers, Santa Clara County health official Dr. Sara Cody announced new safety rules for businesses and residents that would reduce the number of customers inside businesses, establish a quarantine 14 days for travelers and would temporarily ban young people. and professional sports.

“We have come to a place where our cases and hospitalizations are so high that we have to do something about it,” said Dr Sara Cody.

In a press release, health officials in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Francisco County and the City of Berkeley expressed support for the new South Bay restrictions and warned that they could follow suit as cases increase.

“What we are seeing today in the South Bay, we may soon be seeing across the Bay Area. These actions will help slow the spread of COVID in Santa Clara County and beyond.” Alameda County health official Dr Nicholas Moss said in a press release.

MAP: CA counties that can, cannot reopen under new rules

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The state also announced rollbacks for nine counties, including San Francisco and San Mateo County, both of which will drop from the red level to join the majority of other Bay Area counties in the more restrictive purple level.

The cancellations will take effect on Sunday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said, urging residents to protect themselves and their families.

RELATED: San Francisco and San Mateo Counties Move to Restrictive Purple Level Amid Rise in Cases

San Francisco Mayor London Breed tweeted: “This is the most aggressive wave SF has seen yet. We are currently averaging 118 new cases per day, up from 73 per day in the first week of November. “

This is the most aggressive push SF has seen to date. We are currently registering an average of 118 new cases per day, compared to 73 per day in the first week of November.

For the week of November 16, we had 768 cases diagnosed compared to 217 cases diagnosed the week of October 12.

– London Race (@LondonBreed) November 28, 2020

In San Mateo County, the health department reported an 85% spike in new COVID-19 cases from October through November. The county’s new adjusted case rate is 7.6 per 100,000 people, officials said on Saturday.

Almost the entire state, including most of the Bay Area, is now under a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and subject to the most stringent regulations for business, including a ban on eating inside and limited capacity in stores.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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