California counties reported 107 new COVID-19 fatalities on Friday, making it the second-deadliest day in the state since the start of the pandemic.
The state has now recorded 3,156 deaths from the virus. California also reported 2,030 new cases yesterday for a total of 76,845, according to data compiled by this news organization. Most of the new deaths were reported in Southern California, which has become a hotspot for the virus in the state even though the Bay Area had many of the first cases in the country.
The deaths increased California’s seven-day average of fatalities, which on Thursday was at just over 72 deaths a day. The average has been mostly flat since the start of the month after a peak of more than 80 deaths on average in late April. California has a seven-day average of 1,766 new reported cases a day, a number that has been nearly flat for about four days.
Los Angeles County reported 46 new deaths yesterday, followed by 11 in San Bernardino County, eight in San Diego County, seven in Riverside County and four in Orange County. The Central Valley’s Tulare County also reported 10 deaths — that county’s death rate of 13 for every 100,000 residents is second only in the state to Los Angeles.
The nine-county Bay Area, plus Santa Cruz County, reported eight deaths on Friday, and 179 new cases. Alameda County reported three deaths and 66 cases, the most in the region for a total of 82 deaths and 2,300 cases. Alameda is moving close to passing Santa Clara County for most cases in the region, even though the South Bay county had more cases early in the pandemic and has about 271,000 more residents.
Alameda County has a seven-day average of 48 new cases daily, compared to seven-day averages of 25 new cases in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, 16 in Santa Clara County and 12 in Contra Costa County.
Statewide, the number of patients hospitalized with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 decreased by 136 to 4,519 patients, according to data reported by the state yesterday for Thursday. The number of patients in intensive care unit beds with suspected or confirmed cases stayed flat at 1,324. Fifty of those ICU patients are in Alameda County, the most of any Bay Area county, but a fraction of the 581 ICU patients in Los Angeles County.
Most California counties have begun to enter Phase 2 of shelter in place orders, easing some lockdown restrictions to allow activities such as curbside pickup at retail stores, landscaping, office work that can’t be done remotely and more. As of Friday morning, only Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties had not announced plans to move to Phase 2, although Contra Costa is allowing outdoor gatherings if participants stay inside their cars.