California passes New York for most COVID-19 deaths

California surpassed New York on Tuesday in the total number of COVID-19 deaths, reclaiming ignominious title 11 months after the discovery of the first American to die from the coronavirus in the Golden State.

The death toll in California rose from 513 dead on Tuesday, according to data compiled by this news organization, to 44,996 since the pandemic began almost a year ago. Although the devastating wave of New York City last spring was not replicated anywhere else in the country, California, a state with double the population of New York and 10 million more people than any other state, recorded its deadliest period of the pandemic in the past two years. months, reporting deaths three times faster than New York City last week.

However, even deaths, considered the latest lagging indicator of an outbreak, have started to slow, now around a month away from the first signs of cases and hospitalizations stabilizing. California’s curve followed a similar trajectory to that of the country, which also began to see a decrease in the number of new cases and deaths, as well as active hospitalizations.

In California, the average number of new cases continued to decline on Tuesday, after there were 10,913 reported in the state. At around 12,320 per day over the past week, California has cut its cases by almost half from two weeks ago, a drop of 47%, but infections continue at a higher rate than no any other point before the winter wave. The number of Californians hospitalized with COVID-19 fell 35% in the past two weeks to 11,198 on Monday, its lowest point in more than two months but still well above any point before Thanksgiving.

But California’s death toll has risen by more than 3,100 just over the past week – an average of 445 per day – nearly 20% lower than two weeks ago, but still triple any period of seven days outside of this winter. Two in five Californians who have perished during the entire pandemic have died since the schedule moved to 2021. Since the start of the new year, California has recorded more than 18,500 deaths from COVID-19, up from a few more than 7,200 in New York City, more than 12,000 in Texas and about 6,500 in Florida – the three states with the highest cumulative death tolls (and populations).

In April, the deadliest month of the pandemic in New York, it recorded nearly 21,300 casualties, more than the nearly 15,000 lives lost in California last month with around half the population.

Per capita, California ranks below all three of its other large states, including a death rate during the pandemic less than half that of New York City, which ranks behind only neighboring New Jersey in lives. lost per capita. .

As cases fell rapidly in California, its position in the nationwide ranking of state infection rates also declined. With about 31.2 daily cases per 100,000 population over the past week, California has moved from first place to 20th place, according to the New York Times. However, only six other states have a higher proportion of their residents still being treated for the disease in hospitals, according to the COVID Tracking Project; none have a higher overall number of active hospitalizations.

In the Bay Area, cases have dropped drastically enough that some local counties are starting to sniff advanced reopening levels.

There was no movement locally in the weekly update provided on Tuesday, but new state data showed a number of counties were moving closer to eventually move to the red reopening level, which requires a rate adjusted case rate of 7 / 100K or less and a positivity rate less than 8%.