California avoided setting a record for COVID-19 patients during the past 24 hours, as the number of daily cases fell on Wednesday after setting a new high on Tuesday. But hospitalizations continue to increase in the state, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
During his regular coronavirus briefing, Newsom said the state continues to see thousands of new COVID-19 patients, and reinforced “the imperative of taking personal responsibility” when it comes to wearing masks and keeping a physical distance from those who are not part of your household.
“We are still in the first wave of this pandemic, we are not in the second wave,” he said.
The governor says the state is testing a record number of people each day — more than 101,000 as of Wednesday — and that the “positivity rate” of positive results out of all those tested is increasing marginally, up to 5.6% in the past week as opposed to 5.1% during the past 14 days.
“While that is significant, it’s not where we need to be,” Newsom said of the state’s testing capacity.
The total number of COVID-19 cases dropped in the past 24 hours after a record 7,149 cases were reported on Tuesday; 5,349 tested positive on Wednesday.
As of Thursday, California experienced a 32% increase in total COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past 14 days. Newsom said the state is at 8% of its total hospital bed capacity, and 34% capacity for intensive-care unit beds.
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