New cases of COVID-19, and the number of patients hospitalized with the virus, have largely remained flat in California in October, as more Bay Area counties progress in the state’s tiered reopening schedule.
On Friday, California counties reported 3,092 new cases, slightly fewer than the seven-day average of 3,164 daily new cases. That average has remained largely the same throughout the month — it was 3,218 on Oct. 1.
California also reported 74 deaths from COVID-19 yesterday, higher than the seven-day average of 57 daily fatalities. Fatalities have been slowly declining in the state since reaching a peak seven-day average of 145 deaths on Aug. 6. On Oct. 1 the seven-day average was 84 daily fatalities.
Los Angeles County led the way in new cases, with 1,039, followed by San Diego County with 311 new cases and San Bernardino County with 294. That was followed by Riverside, Orange and Santa Clara counties. Los Angeles County also reported 21 new deaths, followed by Orange County with 10 and both Alameda and Santa Clara counties with six deaths each. They were followed by Fresno and San Francisco counties.
That data tracked by this news organization reflects when the deaths were publically added to the count of COVID-19 fatalities in each county, not when deaths actually occurred. Some counties have been adding COVID-19 deaths that happened in previous weeks, which can at times inflate the daily death numbers.
Statewide, hospitalizations have also remained largely unchanged this month, declining slightly from 2,339 patients with confirmed COVID-19 cases hospitalized on Oct. 1 to 2,245 patients on Thursday. That’s down significantly from a peak of 7,170 on July 21, part of a wave of new cases that began in June when government officials began easing lockdown restrictions.
The number of patients in intensive care unit beds with confirmed cases of COVID-19 has also declined slightly, from 679 on Oct. 1 to 615 on Thursday. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds peaked at 2,058 on July 21.
Santa Clara County, which has the most cases of any Bay Area county, reported 115 cases and six deaths of Friday, bringing the county’s total to 22,974 cases and 373 fatalities. Alameda County reported 38 cases and six deaths, for a total of 22,408 cases and 439 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Earlier this week, both counties moved into California’s orange COVID-19 tier, indicating a moderate spread of the virus in the community. That allows both counties to permit some indoor gatherings, including indoor dining, movie theaters and houses of worship, as well as some outdoor activities such as playgrounds, although both counties have been slower to reopen than the state guidelines allow.
On Friday, Contra Costa County reported 52 cases and zero deaths, bringing its total to 17,997 cases and 234 fatalities. San Mateo County reported 32 cases and two deaths, bringing the county’s total to 10,687 cases and 157 deaths. Both counties remain on California’s red tier, indicating the spread of the virus is substantial. No Bay Area counties remain on the state’s most restrictive purple tier, which indicates COVID-19 is widespread in the community.
San Francisco County, the first in the Bay Area to enter the orange tier, reported 26 cases and four deaths on Friday, for a total of 11,782 cases and 130 deaths.
