Coronavirus cases in San Diego County topped 1,000 on Friday, but county health officials said it was a good sign that cases are not growing as fast as the number of tests.
Cases grew by 146 to 1,112 in the county and one additional death was reported for a total of 17.
The latest tally comes as total number of tests administered to county residents reached 15,831 — over 14 times the number of cases found.
“There is some encouragement here that there is a vast difference between the number of tests being conducted and the positive cases being reported, and we hope to see this trend continue,” said Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.
The county, local hospitals and private laboratories are now conducting over 1,000 coronavirus tests on most days.
Fletcher and others who spoke at the county’s daily briefing on the coronavirus situation were wearing scarves that could be quickly used as face coverings in adherence with new health recommendations.
Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s Chief Health Officer, said the latest COVID-19 victim was a man in his late 70s.
She noted that while many of the deaths involved older patients with underlying medical conditions, 57% of coronavirus patients are between the ages of 20 and 49.
Of the positive cases to date, 211 people have been hospitalized and 85 placed in intensive care.
