As of late, the Bay Area is experiencing a slow but significant resurgence in the number of coronavirus cases, alerting people of the disease’s power spreading across the globe. The news of the increasing case count is both a concerning and expected result as more business establishments reopen for attempts to halt economic regression.
The Bay Area and California are both experiencing the third wave of COVID-19 instances over the country. The U.S. reported a total of 132,797 new cases on Friday. However, California’s case increases are less dramatic than that of the Bay Area’s, announcing from a recent lower number of 2,941 daily cases on October 18 compared to the higher count of 4,834 on Thursday. Moreover, California districts recorded 6,256 new coronavirus cases, summing up to 964,173 total instances since the start of the epidemic earlier this year.
After weeks of California’s slowly declining cases, such infections’ resurgence rose again in light of recent days. The increase in coronavirus cases happened from June to July as government officers loosened lockdown protocols, with a peak of 9,856 new occurrences on July 12 within a seven-day average timeline. A steady increase in case count also surges in the Bay Area recently, with additional 661 COVID-19 cases on Friday than the lower number count of 413 on October 17.
Following the latest new cases is the death count from the infectious disease. California divisions also reported a total of 73 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, summing up to 17,938 since the beginning of the epidemic. Los Angeles led the death count with 17 deaths, Orange County with nine deaths, and Fresno County with seven deaths. Alameda, Santa Clara, and Sonoma counties followed closely on the list.
The death count basis mainly relies upon the dates when the results were publicly released and not necessarily on the individual’s date of passing. This disclaimer is due to the delays in reporting fatalities and tracking.
California gas observed an increase in the number of patients and hospitalization instances. About 2,765 COVID-19 confirmed patients who are confined in medical wards, hinting at a rise of 2 percent from the previous day in contrast to 26 percent from October 11. On Thursday, there are 822 confirmed patients confined in ICU beds.
California’s orange COVID-19 tier covers the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Mateo, indicating the moderate spread of the coronavirus in the previously-mentioned districts. In the yellow tier lies San Francisco, hinting at the disease’s minimal expansion.
Due to the announced weekly tiers on Wednesday, Colusa County was the only approved to advance in the structure, shifting from the red (substantial) to the orange (moderate). According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, the sight of only one district moving forward in the first week of November prove a possible setback for others.
“Which I think is a chief reminder that the baseline transmission rates of COVID across our state are indeed going up,” said Dr. Ghaly. “Not only in one or two counties, but it’s widespread across the state,” he added.
Other divisions can move down the tier system once case rates don’t increase in the next weeks, including Sacramento and Yolo. Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye confirmed this prediction.
“We are still in the red… this week, we met the criteria for the purple tier,” Dr. Kasirye declared, adding, “If we hit the threshold for two weeks in a row, then we are at risk of reverting to the purple tier.”
In response to the increase of coronavirus cases, San Francisco implements self-quarantine protocols for locals and tourists exploring the country during the holiday season. The newly laid-out regulations are in hopes of preventing the rapid infection increase.
