23 new coronavirus cases in Fallbrook since last week

Fallbrook is reporting 497 coronavirus cases as of Sept. 14, an increase of 23 cases over the week prior.

More than 1% of the population of the 92028 ZIP code has now tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, a threshold the area crossed for the first time this week. 92028 includes Fallbrook as well as Rainbow and De Luz.

The 92028 ZIP code currently has San Diego County's 34th highest rate of coronavirus infections per 100,000 people, as well as the 45th lowest rate in the county – unchanged from last week.

Nearby Bonsall's 92003 ZIP code reported 43 coronavirus cases as of Sept. 14, the same as last week. As has been the case since the start of the pandemic, San Diego County cannot estimate an infection rate for Bonsall because of the low number of cases and low population.

Countywide, public health officials reported 265 new COVID-19 infections and no new deaths Sept. 13, bringing the county's totals to 42,679 cases and 734 fatalities.

Of the 8,281 tests reported Saturday, 3% returned positive, moving the 14-day rolling average of positive tests to 4.4%, well below the state's 8% guideline. The seven-day average number of tests performed in the county is 7,200.

Of the total positive cases in the county, 3,296 – or 7.7% – have required hospitalization since the pandemic began, and 781 – or 1.8% – were admitted to an intensive care unit.

On Sept. 12, county health officials reported five new community outbreaks. Three were in restaurants, one in a restaurant/bar and one in a business.

In the past seven days – Sept. 7 through Sept. 14 – 14 community outbreaks were confirmed. The number of community outbreaks remains above the county's goal of fewer than seven in a seven-day span. A community setting outbreak is defined as three or more COVID-19 cases in a setting and in people of different households in the past 14 days.

Under the new state monitoring metrics, San Diego County was in Tier 2, also called the Red Tier, as of press time, though San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten said on Sept. 15 the county's case rate was high enough that it could fall back to the lowest tier of the state reopening system if it remains high for another week . San Diego's state-calculated unadjusted case rate at press time was 6.9 per 100,000 residents and the testing positivity percentage was 4.2%.

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

City News Service contributed to this report.