The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency on Thursday reported a two-day record of 1,281 new coronavirus cases as the pandemic surged across the country.
“We have not seen cases this high in months and it’s a clear indication that COVID-19 is widespread,” said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer. “These totals also show people are not following the public health recommendations that we know work to prevent getting and passing COVID-19.”
On Wednesday, a record 661 COVID-19 cases were reported, followed by 620 cases on Thursday. The 14-day rolling average of positive daily tests now stands at 3.7%.
No new deaths were reported Thursday, but three were announced on Wednesday — three men ranging in age from their mid 50s to mid 70s.
There have been 49 community outbreaks over the past seven days, many of them at restaurants and bars.
The county is now in the state of California’s purple tier indicting widespread infection, and will remain in that tier for at least three weeks unless daily cases drop into the 200-300 range.
“Coming in the weeks following Halloween, these results are a warning sign that we need to follow public health guidance throughout the upcoming holiday season,” Wooten said.
The county also announced a new COVID-19 case rate map that shows how cities and communities are being impacted by the virus.
The interactive map allows users to identify the case rate per 100,000 residents in cities and communities or by zip code. The map also shows where each area falls under the different state tiers and whether the case rate and testing positivity are going up or down.
Since the first local case in March, there have been 1,594,541 tests performed in San Diego County, resulting in 62,334 cases and 918 deaths.
