Updates: ‘We are in a major surge of COVID-19,’ SF health officer says

Health

Updates: ‘We are in a major surge of COVID-19,’ SF health officer says

Editor2

July 30, 2020

Updates: ‘We are in a major surge of COVID-19,’ SF health officer says

[ad_1]

FILE PHOTO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed (center) speaks during a press conference as San Francisco police chief William Scott (left) and San Francisco Department of Public Health director Dr. Grant Colfax (right) look on at San Francisco City Hall on March 16, 2020 in San Francisco, California. “In just 10 days, this month we went from 5,000 to 6,000 cases of COVID-19,” said Colfax.

less

FILE PHOTO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed (center) speaks during a press conference as San Francisco police chief William Scott (left) and San Francisco Department of Public Health director Dr. Grant

… more

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

FILE PHOTO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed (center) speaks during a press conference as San Francisco police chief William Scott (left) and San Francisco Department of Public Health director Dr. Grant Colfax (right) look on at San Francisco City Hall on March 16, 2020 in San Francisco, California. “In just 10 days, this month we went from 5,000 to 6,000 cases of COVID-19,” said Colfax.

less

… more

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

LATEST July 30, 10:50 a.m. In a virtual press conference Thursday, San Francisco Department of Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax and Supervisor Cathering Stefani announced a new inpatient facility for low-acuity patients recovering from non-COVID-19-related ailments.

The new city-funded site at 1163 and 1167 Gorgas Avenue in the Presidio will serve to open hospital beds for incoming COVID-19 patients. The facility will open for 20 patients to start, but will have the capacity for 93 patients.

“The demand for acute care and the ICU has grown at a rate of 15% each week during the month of July,” Stefani said. “This is of great concern.”

Colfax also noted the rise in COVID hospitalizations, adding that during the April peak, 94 patients were hospitalized; that number dropped to 26 six weeks ago. Today, however, San Francisco recorded a new peak in hospitalizations, with 107 patients. A quarter of those are in intensive care.

“In just 10 days, this month we went from 5,000 to 6,000 cases of COVID-19,” Colfax continued. “Let me be clear: We are in a major surge of COVID-19. The virus is moving fast and more people are getting very ill.”

By his current estimates, the city will see “more than 750 San Franciscans in the hospital by mid-October,” and will have recorded 600 deaths.

July 30, 9:30 a.m. The Santa Clara County Health Department confirmed its investigating a coronavirus outbreak among multiple employees at a South Bay Costco store.

NBC Bay Area reports that up to nine employees at the store have tested positive for the virus and safety precautions are being taken.

Costco wasn’t immediately available for comment.

July 30, 8:50 a.m. San Mateo County was added to the state watch list Wednesday, and now all nine Bay Area counties are on the list managed by the California Department of Public Health.

The county’s case rate across 14 days averaged 110.4 positive cases per 100,000 residents on Wednesday. The state’s threshold for inclusion on the monitoring list is a case rate of 100.

After being on the list for three days, counties are required to cease certain industries unless operations can be conducted outdoors and with curbside pickup.

The three-day clock began in San Mateo County on Wednesday, and county officials warned additional restrictions could take effect Saturday, Aug. 1. The following businesses should be preparing to shut down or modify operations: gyms and fitness centers; places of worship and cultural ceremonies, like weddings and funerals; offices for non-critical infrastructure sectors; personal care services, like nail salons and body waxing; hair salons and barbershops; and shopping malls. Shops offering tattoos, piercings, and electrolysis may not be operated outdoors and must close.

July 30, 7:30 a.m. California broke its record for the highest number of deaths linked to COVID-19 in a single day this week.

The Department of Public Health reported 197 fatalities on Tuesday. This tragic number comes after the state saw a surge in cases and hospitalizations in July.

UC Berkeley professor of infectious disease John Swartzberg said the deaths we’re seeing now are from cases that were detected at the beginning of July.

“The deaths are going to lag behind the number of new cases by almost a month,” said Swartzberg. “When we look at the deaths continuing to rise, that’s less of a barometer of how we’re doing today.”

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 8,715 COVID-19 deaths in California.

While deaths are going up, the rate of increase in new cases is slightly slowing down. The 7-day average number of new cases was 8,818 per day as of Tuesday, according to the CDPH. A week ago, the 7-day average was 9,420. California has 475,305 confirmed cases to date.

Swartzberg said the suggestion of a decline in new cases is encouraging, but he hesitates to call it a trend and says a slowdown in cases must continue for one to two more weeks before we know if this is merely a blip.

The state has created a watch list for counties that require extra monitoring due to increased transmission of the virus. There are currently 37 of the 58 counties on the list, representing some 93% of the state population.

In the Bay Area, all nine counties are now on the watch list. After dodging the list for weeks, San Mateo County was added Wednesday.

See the CDPH’s COVID-19 Statewide Update.