Fallbrook now records total of 266 coronavirus cases, county reaches more than 27,000 cases

Fallbrook is reporting 40 more coronavirus cases than a week earlier, according to San Diego County public health statistics from Monday, July 27, the same day the county reported 529 coronavirus-related hospitalizations across the region, a high for the month of July.

The total number of recorded cases in Fallbrook now sits at 266, or a rate of 542 cases per 100,000.

Two weeks ago, Fallbrook had a total of 181 coronavirus cases – which represented an increase of only 22 cases from a week before that – and 374.9 cases per 100,000.

While Fallbrook had the 14th-lowest infection rate out of any ZIP code in the county a little more than a month ago, with only 63 recorded cases, its infection rate more than doubled between June 23 and July 7.

As of July 27, the 92028 ZIP code was roughly in the middle of the county’s distribution of coronavirus infection rates – it has the 39th-highest number of cases per 100,000, and the 40th-lowest, out of the ZIP codes the county estimates infection rates for.

The total number of coronavirus cases recorded in Fallbrook and surrounding areas since the start of the pandemic is about 0.57% of the 92028 ZIP code’s 2010 population. Countywide, the number of cases is approaching 1% of the total population.

Bonsall’s 92003 ZIP code also saw an increase in coronavirus cases. It is now reporting 31 positive cases, up from 25 a week ago. The county still cannot estimate an infection rate for Bonsall because of the low number of cases and low population.

The county reported 523 new daily diagnoses July 27, raising the region's cumulative coronavirus case total to 27,507, but the death toll was unchanged at 533.

County officials also expressed concern Monday about a weekend outdoor church service that attracted scores of unmasked worshippers.

During an afternoon briefing, San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten said the church service held Sunday evening on Cardiff State Beach drew more than 1,000 worshipers.

“It really was a massive group of people gathering together without social distancing and without wearing facial coverings,'' Wooten said. “We will continue to address this egregious violation as we have the others that have been brought to our attention.''

Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the reclosure of churches in much of the state about two weeks ago amid a spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

Outdoor worship services are still permitted, though attendees are supposed to wear face coverings and stay 6 feet apart.

Wooten also noted that San Diego County has been on the state's monitoring list for around three weeks and, in order to get off the list, the county would need to lower its 14-day case rate to below 100 cases per 100,000 population. San Diego's 14-day case rate is at 144 per 100,000 as of July 27.

“If people continue to show or implement behavior in terms of gathering and not wearing face coverings and not social distancing, it is quite possible we will not get off the list,” Wooten said.

In order to get off the state's monitoring list, San Diego County would have to report 234 or fewer new cases per day for two weeks straight, according to the county's public health officer.

The county reported 6,456 diagnostic tests Sunday, July 26, 8% of which returned positive. The 14-day rolling average of positive tests is 5.7%. The target set by California is less than 8%.

The seven-day daily average of tests is 8,997 in San Diego County. Of the total positive cases, 2,405 or 8.7% required hospitalization and 618 or 2.3% were admitted to an intensive care unit.

Two new community setting outbreaks were reported Sunday, in a restaurant/bar and a retail business. In the past seven days, 13 community outbreaks have been confirmed.

The number of community outbreaks is above the trigger of seven or more in seven days. A community setting outbreak is defined as three or more COVID-19 cases in a setting and in people of different households.

As a result of numbers that continue to rise, Supervisor Greg Cox announced July 22 that San Diego County was initiating a Safe Reopening Compliance Team that will focus on businesses and residents not in compliance with public health orders. The team's exact powers were not clear.

“This is a carrot approach, not a stick,” Cox said. “But we still have the stick and other tools to ensure compliance.”

Cox said July 27 that city officials hope to have a plan approved by Aug. 4 with specifics on how the Safe Reopening Compliance Team will operate.

Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said the team would enable the county to step up enforcement of “egregious violations,” but the details on that enforcement were also unclear. Officials were reaching out to the various cities and communities in the county to collaborate on solutions.

“This is out of an effort to keep our businesses open, not to close them,” Fletcher said.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].

City News Service contributed to this report.