As the second week of February comes to an end, the second consecutive week of consistent decline in all COVID-19 statistics in California according to information compiled by this news organization. However, cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain higher than ever before this winter.
On Thursday, there were another 10,401 new cases and 541 deaths from COVID-19 in California, both still significantly higher but lower than the week before, while active hospitalizations fell by another 400 patients, and the total number of patients treated in intensive care units fell below 3,000 for the first time in two months. Only 4.6% of tests came positive for COVID-19 last week, compared to a positive rate of more than 14% last month during the peak of the pandemic.
At about 11,320 cases per day over the past week, the state is averaging about a quarter of the infections it had last month – at the peak of the outbreak – with a 50% decrease over the past two weeks. However, deaths have risen by about 414 a day in the past week, almost 25% lower than two weeks ago, but still three times higher than any point before the winter wave.
Even as deaths decline, Californians are dying in significantly higher numbers than any other state.
The total death toll in the state, which recently surpassed New York for the most part in the country, rose more than 46,000 on Thursday. Last week, according to the New York Times, California recorded nearly 1,000 more victims of COVID-19 than its nearest state, Texas. Of the six states that have averaged at least 100 deaths per day over the past week, only Arizona has recorded it per capita higher.
Although California tops the list of total life loss to the virus, thirty states have lost a larger portion of their population. Even Los Angeles County, home to 10 million people and one of the hardest-hit residents in California, will have fewer than ten states in lives per capita, although it has a higher total death toll than seven of them and any other state in the nation.
On Thursday, Los Angeles County and the rest of Southern California accounted for an extraordinary proportion of deaths across the state, but 33 of the 58 counties contributed their death toll.
The Bay Area reported a total of 67 in the region, led by 30 in Santa Clara County, 15 in Contra Costa County and 13 in Alameda County.
Southern California’s share of about 69% of nationwide deaths was lower than its total share of the entire pandemic on Tuesday, but remained above its share of the population. The region was responsible for the four largest deaths in the province and seven out of 13 with double-digit deaths: 158 in Los Angeles County, 59 in San Bernardino County, 51 in San Diego County, 42 in Orange County, 23 in Riverside County, 18 in Ventura County and 10 in Imperial County.
In the provinces of Southern California, however, the list of the highest infection rates in the state is no longer excluded.
Only three provinces in California, which were removed a month from a static rate of more than 100, recorded an average per capita average of at least 50 cases per 100,000 residents in the past week. All three are sparsely populated and have combined less than 25 cases per day in the past week. Overall, for the first time since Thanksgiving last week, there were fewer than 30 cases per 100,000 residents per day, an infection rate lower than 21 other states, according to the Times.
Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles still rank among the top 10, but with respective daily infection rates over the past week of 43, 35 and 34 cases per 100,000 residents.
Now there are more provinces in the San Joaquin Valley that contain the top 10 states: Kern, Kings, Stanislaus and Merced, with infection rates ranging from 39 to 45 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
In the broader Bay Area, no province has recorded more than 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past week, and all five of its provinces have recorded infection rates between 16 and 21 per 100,000.