Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Pandemic ebbs in SD County; infections, hospitalizations down locally

The current wave of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be ebbing in San Diego County, with new infections down locally and countywide, and hospitalizations declining as well.

A total of 926 new cases reported on Feb. 2 broke a 63-day streak with more than 1,000 cases, though the number edged back up above 1,000 to come in at 1,598 new cases two days later on Feb. 4. Another 1,230 new cases were reported on Feb. 7.

Feb. 7’s report pushed the aggregate coronavirus numbers in the county to 246,564 cases and 2,821 deaths from the disease since the pandemic started.

Of the 19,919 tests reported Feb. 7, 6% returned positive, nudging the 14-day rolling average up slightly to 7.7% from Thursday's 7.5%. As recently as Jan. 22, the percentage was more than 10%.

In the 92028 ZIP code, which includes Rainbow and De Luz, county data shows a case rate of 50.4 coronavirus cases per 100,000 during the week of Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, the most recent week for which data was available. That is down from 59.8 per 100,000 the week prior. County data is still showing 3,188 all-time coronavirus cases in the 92028 ZIP code as of Feb. 8 and has not been updated since last week.

The county combines Bonsall’s 92003 ZIP code with neighboring Vista, given Bonsall’s low population; that combined area showed a case rate of 67.6 per 100,000 as of Jan. 17-23, down from 101.5 per 100,000 the week before, and was showing 4,453 total cases as of Feb. 8.

The county Health and Human Services Agency reported 1,109 patients with COVID-19 in county hospitals as of Feb. 8, 336 of whom were in intensive care units, a decrease of nearly 400 hospitalized people from two weeks ago and 621 fewer than the record 1,804 patients set Jan. 12.

ICU patients with COVID-19 decreased by 95 in that two-week window.

There are 42 available, staffed ICU beds in the county.

The county health agency reported 10 new community outbreaks Saturday, Feb. 6, bringing the total in the past week to 73, tied to 285 cases.

As an increasing number of San Diegans gets vaccinated against COVID-19, the HHSA is reminding the public that it is too soon to stop using face coverings and social distancing.

While the two FDA-approved vaccines have shown promising results in clinical trials, it takes several weeks for the immunizations to become fully effective. It is unknown whether a vaccinated person could potentially catch and spread COVID-19 to someone who has not been vaccinated.

Nearly 12% of San Diegans age 16 and over have received at least one of the two shots required to develop antibody protection against the virus.

Around 2.2% of the population over the age of 16 is fully vaccinated.

San Diego County coronavirus inoculation sites have received 586,225 doses of vaccine and administered 411,565 doses, according to the HHSA.

The “vaccination superstation” at Petco Park administered its 100,000th dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, Feb. 4, San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Nathan Fletcher announced.

San Diego County has the capacity to administer more than 20,000 vaccines daily and expects to raise that to 30,000 next week, Fletcher said, but currently only has the supplies to administer around 10,000 vaccines a day.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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

 

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