鈥淚t鈥檚 increasingly likely most of us will have a date with COVID if we haven鈥檛 yet.鈥�
from Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County鈥檚 public health officer, took on newfound significance Tuesday, when the California Department of Public Health reported that the state鈥檚 seven-day COVID test positivity rate had reached 5% for the first time since February, at the tail end of the omicron surge .
- Experts say the actual positivity rate is almost certainly much higher, given that many Californians self-test at home and don鈥檛 report the results, while other infected residents may not test at all.
Also Tuesday, the widely respected announced that the United States has officially surpassed 1 million reported COVID-19 deaths 鈥� though the university noted 鈥渢he number of fatalities is likely much higher.鈥�
More than 90,000 Californians have died of COVID, 鈥� though the Golden State鈥檚 death rate has remained fairly stable and low in recent months. And while that statewide hospitalization rates are beginning to tick back up, just 1,527 COVID-positive patients were in the hospital on Monday 鈥� a far cry from the nearly 12,900 in late January at the peak of the omicron wave.
Nevertheless, a growing group of local public health officials 鈥� including more than a dozen and 鈥� are urging residents to mask up in public places and avoid nonessential indoor gatherings or move them outdoors. One small Monterey school district . And Apple to require employees to return to the office three days a week starting next Monday.
- : 鈥淭he bunk that cases are not important is preposterous. They are infections that beget more cases, they beget , they beget sickness, hospitalizations and deaths. They are also the underpinning of new variants.鈥�
The rise in cases 鈥� which experts say appears to be driven by a mix of highly contagious omicron subvariants; increased testing; relaxed restrictions; and waning immunity from vaccination, or prior infection 鈥� could test Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 , with right around the corner.
And it could also pose problems for California鈥檚 coronavirus-battered economy, which is still .
- In the Bay Area, the COVID surge is colliding with a persistent worker shortage, forcing many restaurants to temporarily shut down, .
- : 鈥淚n the end, it鈥檚 a burden on restaurant workers whose incomes obviously rely on staying open 鈥� and us as restaurant owners, who end up either covering for multiple roles every night, or stressing about the business tanking. It鈥檚 a lose-lose.鈥�
- Meanwhile, as kids return to in-person learning 鈥� lowering the demand for online classes 鈥� unvaccinated Los Angeles Unified educators who have been teaching online could lose their jobs if they don鈥檛 get inoculated, . The news comes as California grapples with a widespread and .
The coronavirus bottom line: As of Monday, California had 8,757,871 confirmed cases (+0.6% from previous day) and 90,219 deaths (+0.1% from previous day), according to now updated just twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. CalMatters is also tracking .
California 75,489,752 vaccine doses, and 75.2% of eligible Californians are .
is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.