The coronavirus case in California is now the lowest in the continental US. It is an achievement that reflects months of hard progress against the pandemic in the wake of the devastating fall and winter boom of the state.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state’s latest seven-day rate of new cases – 40.3 per 100,000 people – is dramatically lower than the nationwide rate of 135.3. .
At the other end of the spectrum is Michigan, which has by far the highest seven-day fall in the country, with 483 per 100,000 people. Others at the top of the disturbing rankings are New Jersey, 269.7; Delaware, 264.1; Pennsylvania, 248.5; and Minnesota, 238.4.
Among the larger states, the comparable rates over the same period were 201.1 in Florida and 65.9 in Texas.
While the long-term hope stems from the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, the pandemic still poses a more immediate danger – especially in areas where cases are on the rise.
“Cases and hospitalizations are increasing in some parts of the country, and cases among younger people who have not yet been vaccinated are also increasing,” said CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said during an information session earlier this week. ‘Like you all, I want to do again the things I love with family and friends that I have not been able to see in the last year. We all have a role to play in turning this tide and tending our business. ”
California, however, has so far avoided the increases seen elsewhere.
The state’s case rate has been among the lowest in the country for some time, and the numbers reflect the sustained and significant progress the state has made – all the more so because the state is in a hurry to get as many people into it as quickly as possible. to graft and the kind of nails that hit other parts of the country and world, officials say.
“To have a continued decline in COVID-19 transmission, we will need to remain vigilant and take precautions next week, which will give us time to vaccinate more people,” the Los Angeles County Public Health Director said. , Barbara Ferrer, said in a statement. .
Over the past week, California has reported an average of 2,320 cases per day – a 13% decrease from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by The Times.
Last winter, the California average peaked at more than 40,000 new cases a day.
The other statistics of the state also continued to move in an encouraging direction.
On Tuesday, 1,774 coronavirus-positive Californians were hospitalized across the country, with 437 in intensive care. Although these numbers have grown slightly day by day, they remain one of the lowest the state has seen since last spring.
And over the past week, the state has recorded an average of 81 COVID-19 deaths per day – a still sobering toll that has still dropped from the height of the boom, when the average number of daily deaths was close to 600. Times’ data shows.
California’s progress is reflected in the reopening, as many parts of the state have recently been able to lift coronavirus – related restrictions.
Just this week, the provinces of Fresno, Santa Barbara, Kings, Calaveras and Mono moved into the orange level – the second most comfortable of the state’s four-category color code reopening blueprint.
By doing so, a number of businesses in those areas can resume higher-capacity indoor activities.
Now 38 of the 58 counties in California have reached the orange level, and three have entered the last, lightest yellow level. No one stays in the strictest press level.
On March 9, 34 provinces were still in the press level, and only four made it orange or yellow.
But officials stress that progress is not permanent and that it is the joint responsibility of residents and businesses to ensure that allowing additional activity does not cause an increase in coronavirus transmission.
“Every member of our community plays an important role in helping us achieve and continue to enjoy the benefits of empowerment,” Dr. Henning Ansorg, Santa Barbara County’s health officer, said in a statement. “We must constantly pay attention to safety practices, including wearing masks, physical distance, washing hands and being vaccinated as soon as possible.”
This latter point is particularly important, both to stifle potential new waves of COVID-19 in the short term and to finally end the pandemic once and for all.
Providers nationwide have so far administered 27 million doses of vaccines, and 44.5 percent of California residents have received at least one shot, CDC figures show.
More than a quarter of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, meaning that they have both received the required doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or that they received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine before the administration was interrupted. , while federal health officials conducted a study. possible link to extremely rare blood clots.