San Diego County public health officials reported 810 new COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths Wednesday.
The percentage of positive tests and hospitalizations continued to decline Wednesday, good indicators the pandemic may finally be on the wane, despite the heavy death toll.
Of 19,461 tests reported by the county’s Health and Human Services Agency on Wednesday, 4% returned positive, dropping the 14-day rolling average of positive tests from 6.8% last week to 6.5%, the lowest yet in 2021.
Hospitalizations from the virus dropped below 1,000 for the first time this year, declining by 29 patients from Tuesday to 992. Intensive care patients rose by one overnight to 318 but remain generally on the decline. There were 43 available, staffed ICU beds in the county as of Wednesday.
Wednesday’s numbers raise the total number of coronavirus infections in the county throughout the pandemic to 248,861, while the death toll increased to 2,904. It was the third consecutive day with fewer than 1,000 new cases.
The county health agency reported nine new community outbreaks Wednesday, bringing the total in the past week to 70, tied to 290 cases.
— City News Service contributed to this article
