San Diego County public health officials reported 96 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday and 15 more deaths from the disease.
The death toll, which is one of the two highest since the pandemic began, follows two consecutive days in which no deaths were reported.
“Those are 15 lives and 15 families who have been struck by this,” said Supervisor Nathan Fletcher at the county’s daily briefing.
Since the first case in March, the county has administered 84,556 tests, resulting in 5,161 cases and 190 deaths.
Fletcher said the 14-day rolling average of positive cases as a percentage of daily tests has dropped to 5.1%, and “we expect that downward trend to continue as we continue to expand testing.”
Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officers, said the latest victims ranged in age from 56 to 92. She said all had underlying medical conditions.