San Diego County reports 2,695 COVID-19 cases and 32 deaths

Public health officials in San Diego County reported 2,695 new COVID-19 infections and 32 virus-related deaths on Friday, and cases began to decline.

Friday’s case was marked for 46 consecutive days with over 1,000 new diagnoses. More than 3,000 infections are reported 17 times daily, and the 4,000 case marks exceed 3 times.

For the second consecutive day, less than 3,000 cases were reported in the county, the first occurrence since December 28-29.

The cumulative total of cases in the county increased to 206,870 and the number of deaths increased to 2,037. Of the 32 new deaths reported, 30 had an underlying medical condition and 1 did not. Medical history is pending for 1 person.

The death occurred between January 5th and Thursday. Of the deaths, 16 were over 80 years old, 7 were in their 70s, 4 were in their 60s, 1 was in their 50s, 3 were in their 40s, and 1 was in their 30s. There were 16 men and 16 women who died.

Of the 30,851 tests reported on Friday, 9% returned positive and the 14-day moving average dropped from 13.6% on Thursday to 13.2%. The San Diego County Health and Welfare Department and its partners have conducted more than 3.1 million tests since the pandemic began.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations remain high, with 1,787 patients down from Wednesday’s highest of 1,804, 417 patients in the intensive care unit, and 9 embarrassed Monday’s record 426.

There are still ICU beds in the county with a total of 31 staff, including both adult and pediatric beds. Patients without COVID-19 occupy only 260 ICU beds.

The total hospitalization for all causes increased from 4,806 on Thursday to 4,912. That number is 111 above the 80% threshold for occupied beds. Beyond this, the county is reserved exclusively for COVID-19 patients.

Related: Approximately half of the caregivers in nursing care facilities who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine

The county reports a 56% increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations over the last 30 days and a 42% increase in ICU admissions over the same time frame.

Seven new communities were identified on Friday. Two are business environments, two are healthcare environments, one is a hotel / resort / spa environment, one is a faith-based environment, and the other is a retail environment.

In the last 7 days, 44 community outbreaks have been identified and associated with 191.

Following new guidance from the federal government, California has granted immediate access to the COVID-19 vaccine to all residents aged 65 and over this week. However, local authorities sought patience.

“I understand that older San Diego people want to be vaccinated, but currently the number of doses for people over the age of 65 is very limited,” said the agency’s epidemiology and vaccination service. Dr. Eric McDonald, Medical Director of the Society, said.

“We are patient with San Diego. More vaccines are expected in the region soon.”

Related: COVID-19 deaths in San Diego County have doubled since Thanksgiving

San Diego County has more than 620,000 people in the Tier 1A Vaccine Distribution Group. In groups aged 65 and over, health officials are considering an additional 500,000 for well over the one million people targeted for the vaccine.

Both available vaccines are ineffective without two doses.

The University of California, San Diego Health began giving some vaccines to older San Diegoers this week, which was announced on Friday.

“This hopefully marks the beginning of the end of this COVID-19 crisis,” said Donald Crawford, who first obtained the vaccine at UCSD Health. “I got the vaccine because it helps me and others and eventually returns to normal.”

Health organizations want 70% of the county’s population (aged 16 and over), or 1,882,554, to be vaccinated by the end of June.

The University of California, San Diego reported that 245 students have been tested positive for COVID-19 since the winter season began on January 4.

Of the 245 positive cases, 109 live in UCSD and the other 136 live off campus in the San Diego area, according to university data. Sixty-one employees also tested positive for the virus.

At the university, 92 cases were recorded for students who returned to Japan after winter vacation, 14 cases for students who lived on campus, and 4 cases for students who lived off campus.

Approximately 7,300 students live on campus and only 2% of the class section is held directly in winter.

Editor’s Note: This article previously misstated that Friday reported less than 2,000 cases for the second consecutive day. The correct number is 3,000.

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