COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decline in California after a major winter storm sent the state into some of the most stringent pandemic foreclosure orders. Meanwhile, nearly 7 million doses of vaccines have been administered in the state after one of the slowest starts in the country.
On Friday, California provinces reported 7,621 new cases of COVID-19, according to data tracked by this news organization, bringing the state’s seven-day average of new cases to 7,081. This is the lowest average since November 12, at the beginning of the winter push. The average daily new cases has decreased by 82 percent since the beginning of the year.
Los Angeles County, the largest and hardest hit in the state, reported 2,432 new cases, followed by San Diego County with 812 and San Bernardino County with 517. They were followed by Sacramento, Riverside and Orange.
Across the country, the number of patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday decreased by 4.9 percent from the previous day to 7,514. This is below a peak of nearly 22,000 patients in the hospital in early January. The number of patients in beds with intensive care units with confirmed cases decreased by 5.7 percent on Thursday to 2,207. There were nearly 5,000 ICU patients with COVID-19 in early January.
These positive trends come as the number of Californians being vaccinated continues to increase. As of Thursday, 6,929,954 vaccine doses had been administered in the state, 78.5 percent of the doses delivered. Residents of Latino, which is 60 percent of the cases and 39 percent of the population, received 16 percent of the vaccine doses.
Despite the improvement in overall numbers, COVID-19 deaths remain high in the state. On Friday, 479 COVID-19 deaths were reported by California provinces, bringing the state’s seven days to an average of 340 daily deaths. Mortality rates tend to lag behind in cases and hospitalizations, and deaths have been declining since a January 27 high of 566 average daily deaths. During the state’s summer boom, California reached a maximum of seven days of 145.
In The Bay Area, Santa Clara County reported 207 new cases and 17 deaths for a total of 108,462 cases and 1,725 deaths. Alameda County reported 205 cases and 45 deaths, for a total of 79,297 cases and 1,171 deaths.
Contra Costa County reported 150 cases and 11 deaths, a total of 61,284 cases and 643 deaths. San Francisco reported 90 cases and 11 deaths, a total of 33,397 cases and 387 deaths. And San Mateo County reported 88 cases and 16 deaths, for a total of 38,124 cases and 497 deaths since the onset of the pandemic.