


This count was able to collect figures far ahead of any state-led tally. A one-time change in charts and totals occurred on the date of that change.ĭata collection at the outset of the pandemic was completed manually, four times each day. 3, 2021, the California Data Coalition switched its source for county virus data to counts released the California Department of Public Health. Update: Cases and deaths data come from files released by the California Department of Public Health, collected from 61 county and city health departments statewide.īefore September 2021, The Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times led a data collection partnership of California media organizations, including the San Diego Union-Tribune, KQED, KPCC, CapRadio, Calmatters and Big Local News at Stanford University. Listen by selecting your preferred podcast service below.Īpple Spotify Overcast Google Stitcher Pocket Fifth & Mission Podcast Fifth & Mission is diving into all the ways COVID-19 is impacting life in the Bay Area. California has the highest totals in the nation in terms of cases and deaths, but on a per-capita basis, the number of cases and deaths are below the national average. has the highest reported total COVID-19 cases of any country. What is the status of testing in California?Ĭalifornia’s seven-day rolling coronavirus test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of lab test results that are positive for the virus, levelled out at 6.5% in early March. Before vaccines were widely available, the World Health Organization had established a recommended positivity rate of 5% for reopening. In all, more than 12 million Californians have been infected, and the virus has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the state. Many have shifted to wastewater monitoring as an indicator, and those levels mostly plateaued in the run-up to springtime. New cases have declined substantially, and after a steep drop from the latest peak at the end of the year leveled out a bit as springtime approached, although officials say the official case numbers are not a reliable count because they do not include the vast numbers of home rapid tests that do not get reported to government agencies. A decline in state and federal aid and pandemic support programs, including mass testing and vaccination sites, has reflected the changing landscape, with medical and other functions being transitioned to the private sector. With California having lifted its sweeping COVID-19 state of emergency at the end of February, nearly three years to the day after it was put in place, the state also moved to lift remaining pandemic restrictions, including mask and vaccination rules that still were in place for health care and prison settings. What are the current trends in California?
