California’s COVID-19 numbers begin to improve following latest winter surge

Coronavirus activity in California has declined in recent days, with significant drops recorded in key transmission and hospital metrics.

The statewide case rate for COVID-19 fell to 14.3 per 100,000 residents, the California Department of Public Health reported in a weekly update Thursday, down 10% from one week earlier.

California’s positivity rate declined more rapidly, down to 8.7% from 12.3% in last week’s update, according to CDPH.

Virus hospitalizations are also trending downward. CDPH tallied 4,025 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in hospital beds as of Thursday’s update, an 11% decline in the past week.

The numbers are improving from California’s third winter surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The surges that began in late 2020 and 2021 also peaked around early January.

The state is approaching a harrowing milestone, closing in on 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic nearly three years ago.

California health officials as of Thursday had tallied 98,393 total virus deaths, with a recent rate of about 35 per day. The fatality rate spiked during the recent surge, from about 17 per day in mid-November to 40 per day in mid-December.

No mask order for Sacramento school district

Sacramento City Unified School District did not return to an indoor mask requirement upon its return from winter break this week, due to improving COVID-19 case rates in Sacramento County.

Under its COVID-19 safety policy, Sacramento City Unified’s mask mandate is automatically triggered by Sacramento County being classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into the “high” community level for COVID-19 danger.

The county briefly entered the “high” community designation last month, but returned to the CDC’s “medium” level on Dec. 29 and remained there in last Thursday’s weekly update.

District officials in a message to parents last Friday said “indoor masking will not be required, but strongly encouraged, when students and staff return from winter break.”

Sacramento City Unified was due to return from break this Monday, but closed all campuses due to power outages from severe winter storms over the weekend. All schools in the district have since reopened.

Sacramento-area numbers by county

Sacramento County’s latest case rate is 12.2 per 100,000 residents, state health officials said in Thursday’s update, down 6% from one week earlier.

Hospitals in Sacramento County were treating 200 patients Wednesday, state data updated Thursday showed, down from 216 one week earlier. The intensive care unit total increased to 25 from 23.

Placer County’s latest case rate is 9.8 per 100,000 residents, a 6% decrease from one week earlier.

Hospitals in Placer County were treating 84 virus patients Wednesday, down from 113 a week earlier. The ICU total decreased to six from 10.

Yolo County’s latest case rate is 8 per 100,000 residents, a 1% increase from one week earlier.

Hospitals in Yolo County were treating five virus patients Wednesday, up from three a week earlier. The ICU total decreased to one from two.

El Dorado County’s latest case rate is 9.3 per 100,000 residents, a 12% decrease from one week earlier.

Hospitals in El Dorado County were treating four virus patients Wednesday, down from eight a week earlier. The ICU total decreased to zero from two.

Sutter County’s latest case rate is 11.3 per 100,000 residents, down 26% from last week, and Yuba County’s is 13.7 per 100,000, down 25%, state health officials reported Thursday.

The only hospital in Yuba County, which serves the Yuba-Sutter bicounty area, was treating 11 virus patients Wednesday, down from 21 a week earlier. The ICU total remained at two.

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