Coronavirus updates: California nearing 50,000 COVID deaths; Newsom signs stimulus bill
Coming up on one year since the coronavirus crisis was declared a pandemic, California has recorded close to 3.5 million cases and nearly 50,000 deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s virus metrics have rebounded from a severe winter surge that, at its worst points, brought nearly 7,600 COVID-19 deaths in two weeks and saw close to 22,000 hospital beds — 30% of California’s licensed total — occupied by coronavirus patients.
But in the past few weeks, new cases have plummeted. Tuesday’s tally of 3,447 new confirmed cases was the smallest daily total reported by the state since late October, according to the California Department of Public Health. California recorded more than 50,000 cases in a day several times in December and January.
Two-week test positivity has dropped from 14% in early January to 3.2%, and the hospitalized total has fallen below 6,200 COVID-19 patients, fewer than 1,800 of whom are in intensive care.
Amid the vast improvement, California is wading back into economic reopening.
Five counties combining for close to 1.6 million residents — Humboldt, Marin, San Mateo, Shasta and Yolo — were promoted Tuesday from the tight “purple” tier to the looser red tier of COVID-19 restrictions, qualifying due to low case and test positivity rates. The red tier allows a number of types of businesses, including restaurants, gyms and movie theaters, to resume indoor operations.
Seven other counties, including El Dorado and San Francisco, could potentially make the same move next week, CDPH data show.
All the while, California continues a mass vaccination campaign that has had an uneven first two months but has nonetheless seen more than 7.7 million doses injected.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5.5 million people in California have received at least one dose of Pfizer or Moderna’s two-dose regimens. That’s more than 18% of the state’s adult population.
New vaccine imminent?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a report Wednesday morning said it found Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to be safe and effective, all but assuring emergency use authorization is forthcoming.
An FDA advisory committee will hold an all-day meeting Friday to consider whether to recommend authorization for the J&J shot. If the committee recommends as anticipated, the shot could get clearance within a few days and could potentially begin to ship out as early as next week.
The J&J vaccine is widely considered to be a game-changer in the U.S. vaccine landscape. Aside from requiring just one dose, it can also be kept for months at refrigerator temperatures, whereas Pfizer and Moderna’s vials are supposed to stay frozen for long-term storage, giving J&J a significant logistics advantage.
J&J officials announced earlier this week that they will be able to ship 20 million doses to providers in the U.S. over the course of March.
Meanwhile, Pfizer and Moderna are also expected to keep ramping up supply.
The CDC in a weekly update Tuesday to states’ allocations for those two vaccines said California is slated to get about 819,000 first doses next week, up from the 763,000 it was set to receive this week. The Golden State’s allocation has increased five consecutive weeks, by tens of thousands of doses each time.
Newsom signs stimulus bills
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed $7.6 billion in stimulus measures into law on Tuesday, which will send $600 direct payments to millions of low-income Californians and make $2 billion total in grants available for small businesses impacted by the pandemic.
The state payments will go to those who receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit, which is for families earning less than $30,000.
“File your taxes early,” state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, encouraged for those who may qualify.
Latest Sacramento-area numbers
The six-county Sacramento region — Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties — has reported more than 148,000 combined positive cases and at least 2,089 virus deaths over the course of the pandemic.
Sacramento County has confirmed 92,621 cases and at least 1,446 resident deaths from COVID-19. The county on Tuesday added 193 new cases and reported eight fatalities, following 631 cases and seven deaths reported for the three-day window of Saturday through Monday.
By date of death occurrence, December and January were by far Sacramento County’s two deadliest months of the pandemic. Health officials have confirmed 384 deaths for December, 311 for January and 66 for Feb. 1 through Feb. 18.
Prior to December, the county’s deadliest month of the pandemic was August, at 181 virus deaths.
County data show that more than 51,000 residents of the capital city have tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 812 of them have died. That’s more than one case for every 10 residents, and about one death for every 615 residents inside city limits.
The countywide total for hospitalized virus patients rose slightly from 180 on Tuesday to 183 by Wednesday, with the ICU total holding at 50, state data show.
Placer County health officials have confirmed a total of 19,661 infections and 231 deaths. Placer on Tuesday reported 15 new cases and one fatality after adding 126 cases and one death in a Monday update covering the weekend.
State data showed 54 virus patients in Placer hospitals as of Wednesday, down 10 from Tuesday’s 64, but with the ICU total climbing from 22 to 23.
Yolo County has reported a total of 12,569 cases and 185 deaths. The county reported 34 new cases and four deaths Tuesday after adding 112 cases and no deaths in a Monday update covering the weekend.
Yolo on Feb. 17 reported nine virus deaths. County officials recently noted that deaths are confirmed in groups, meaning there may be no deaths noted for several days and then many confirmed in a day or two.
State data show Yolo with 11 virus patients hospitalized as of Wednesday, up one for the second straight day, while the ICU total has held at six.
El Dorado County has reported 9,069 positive test results and 95 deaths. The county reported 10 new cases and no fatalities Tuesday, after adding 42 cases and two deaths in a Monday update covering the weekend.
El Dorado has reported the vast majority of its virus deaths in the past three months: 91 county residents have died of COVID-19 since Nov. 25, compared to four from last March through mid-November.
State data show El Dorado with six patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one in intensive care, down from nine hospitalized and one in an ICU as of Tuesday.
In Sutter County, at least 8,818 people have contracted the virus and 96 have died. Officials added 36 new cases and two fatalities on Monday in a reporting window that included the weekend, followed by 18 new cases and no deaths Tuesday.
Yuba County, which shares a health office with Sutter, has reported 5,719 infections and 36 dead, adding 30 cases and no deaths in Monday’s update and just seven new cases on Tuesday.
The lone hospital serving the Yuba-Sutter bicounty region — Adventist-Rideout in Marysville — had 20 hospitalized virus patients as of Wednesday’s update, down from Tuesday’s 22, but with the ICU total going from six to seven. Twenty hospitalized at Adventist-Rideout is its fewest since Nov. 16.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 8:02 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: California nearing 50,000 COVID deaths; Newsom signs stimulus bill."
