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Wednesday was arguably the darkest day in the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and the Californian sun hasn’t made the toll any less grim here.
The seven-day average daily cases in California soared to another new high – nearly 15,000 per day – after its third-highest one-day total of the pandemic with 19,108 new cases, according to data compiled by this news agency . Active hospitalizations also hit a new high, with more than 8,500 COVID-confirmed patients in hospital beds statewide. And counties in the state have combined to report 118 new victims of the virus, six more than the day before and the most in six weeks.
The United States recorded its highest single-day death toll from the pandemic on Wednesday and, for the first time, more than 100,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. A total of 2,885 new deaths were reported on Wednesday, according to The New York Times, with almost as many lives lost in the 9/11 attacks and the second day in a row with a higher death toll at Pearl Harbor.
With nearly 200,000 new cases nationwide, the United States also recorded more infections on Wednesday than every other day of the pandemic except one.
In total, nearly 14 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19, including more than 1.2 million in California, and more than 273,000 have died from the virus, including 19,443 Californians.
In the Bay Area, Wednesday’s total stood at the region’s third-highest single-day new case count, topped just two more days last week. With 2,440 new cases in the region, the daily average has risen to nearly 23 new infections per 100,000 population.
As cases have slowed nationally and nationally, the daily average in the Bay Area is 50% higher than two weeks ago. On a per capita basis, however, its infection rate remains well below the overall rate in California – around 37.5 daily infections per 100,000 population – and nationally, where the rate is around 50 per. 100,000 inhabitants.
In Alameda County, 465 new cases on Wednesday – its third highest total in a day – pushed the cumulative total to over 30,000, the region’s second after Santa Clara County. In Contra Costa County, the 350 new cases were its seventh total in a single day and pushed the cumulative total to over 25,000. The 488 new cases in Santa Clara County, where hospital beds and Intensive care units approaching capacity, were the most numerous in the region.
The Bay Area accounted for 18 of the state’s recently reported deaths, including six in Alameda County and four in Santa Clara County. Half of the deaths from COVID-19 in the region have been in these two counties, slightly more than their share of around 45% of the population. The Bay Area, where the cumulative death toll topped 2,000 this week, is responsible for about 10% of the statewide death toll, despite making up about 20% of California’s population.
Los Angeles County reported the largest share of new casualties in California, with 40 deaths on Wednesday, followed by 16 in San Diego County, nine in San Joaquin County and seven in San Bernardino County.
The 118 total deaths were the most reported in California since October 21. On Tuesday, the state reported 112 new deaths, for a total of 230 over two days, the most in 48 hours since the last two days of September. The United States on Tuesday recorded its fifth-highest single-day death toll from the pandemic, before setting an all-time record on Wednesday.
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