The number of COVID-19 cases reported in San Diego County skyrocketed to 1,087 on Sunday, blowing past — by a few hundred cases — the daily record set just a day earlier.
Sunday’s numbers marked the fifth consecutive day that the county reported more than 600 new cases. On Saturday, the county reported a now-previous record of 736 new cases. The rise came as the county slipped into the most-restrictive purple tier, which will force some businesses to cease indoor operations.
The spike was big, but the numbers had been creeping up, said Dr. Davey Smith, who heads up UC San Diego’s Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health.
“Here we go again. But it’s not again. It’s unprecedented because we have never had this high a rate of COVID cases before,” Smith said.
COVID-19 cases typically show within a few days to two weeks of exposure. San Diego’s spike comes about two weeks after Halloween, and less than two weeks before Thanksgiving.
The higher numbers come as businesses plead — and sue — to stay open. And they come as officials plead with the public to wear face coverings and social distance.
“This is a stark reminder that COVID is real, is spreading and must be taken seriously,” county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said in a statement.
County officials did not report any deaths Sunday. The new cases reported Sunday brought the region’s caseload to 64,768. The total includes 926 deaths.
The 14-day average of positive tests hit 4.15 percent on Sunday, which reported an 8.8 percent positivity rate. Data show the percentage has been climbing every day since Oct. 21, when it stood at 2.65 percent.
The week ending Friday saw nearly double the amount of cases recorded four weeks prior.
The county just moved to the most restrictive tier under the state’s reopening plans. Restrictions under the “purple” tier took effect just after midnight Saturday. Among the restrictions, many businesses — including restaurants and gyms — are required to cease indoor operations.
County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who has long pushed for businesses to reopen, planned a rally and march Monday to protest the restrictions.
The battle over closures will move to a San Diego Superior courtroom Tuesday. Several businesses are asking a judge to allow affected businesses to reopen indoors under required sanitation and social distancing protocols.
Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer, said this record surge, on the heels of Halloween, is a warning that people “need to follow public health guidance throughout the upcoming holiday season.”
“These totals also show people are not following the public health recommendations that we know work to prevent getting and passing COVID-19,” Wooten said.
Smith — who said his hospital saw two new COVID-19 cases Sunday — pointed to the spike the county had in July, and the subsequent success of public efforts to slow the spread.
“We can do this,” Smith said. “We have done it in the past. It will not be forever.”
Smith asked that people hold on a bit longer and adhere to the guidance of wearing masks and social distancing.
“Vaccines are on their way,” Smith said. “Treatments are on their way. We need to stick together apart for a little while longer.”
Case numbers have been surging in Southern California and across the nation. In Los Angeles County, public health officials recorded 3,780 new cases of the virus Saturday, the highest one-day total since the peak of the crisis in mid-July. On Sunday, officials reported 3,061 new cases.
The county Department of Public Health is expected to submit a series of recommendations to the Board of Supervisors this week.
“Potential options could be instituting a curfew so businesses do not have to completely close down again, but are more limited to essential activities,” Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Sunday in a statement.
The U.S. surpassed 11 million reported virus cases on Sunday, with 1 million of those tallied in just the past week. The daily average of new cases is up by 80 percent from two weeks ago. More than 69,000 people were in hospitals with COVID-19 on Saturday; more than 1,100 deaths are being reported each day on average.
Staff graphics and data reporter Daniel Wheaton, City News Service, the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times contributed to this report
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Daily case count skyrockets to 1,087, 'a stark reminder that COVID is real' - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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