San Diego County’s number of coronavirus cases surged over the holiday weekend, officials said Monday, while the number of county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 continued to climb at a pace not seen since August.
Local health officials reported 5,903 new cases as of Thursday, 4,608 Friday and 8,313 Sunday. The county also reported seven additional fatalities linked to COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing its cumulative totals to 450,198 infections and 4,476 deaths since the pandemic began.
The county Health and Human Services Agency does not report COVID data on weekends or holidays, so no updates were provided Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
There were 664 people in the county hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, up from 628 on Sunday, 590 on Saturday, 510 on Friday and 475 on Thursday. Of the current patients, 122 were in intensive care, a decrease of two from the previous day. The number of available ICU beds increased by seven to 188.
A total of 13,587 tests were reported in San Diego County Monday, and the seven-day average positivity rate was 23.3%, according to the latest figures.
Meanwhile, UC San Diego began a planned two weeks of remote-only classes Monday in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Students and faculty, regardless of vaccination status, are required to complete a COVID-19 test on the day they return to campus for winter quarter. People who are not vaccinated and those who are vaccinated but have not received a booster shot are required to test for the virus two times per week, between three and five days apart.
Remote-only instruction also began Monday at other University of California campuses.
Local health officials recommended that people worried about COVID-19 infection and others seeking COVID-19 testing only go to a hospital to be tested if they have severe symptoms.
Those with mild COVID-19 symptoms should contact their health care provider via phone or telehealth for guidance.
Updated at 7:07 p.m. January 3, 2022
City News Service contributed to this article.
