There are some hopeful signs that California’s summer COVID wave may be stabilizing.
However, it’s still too early to say the peak has passed completely. The coronavirus levels in the state’s wastewater are still considered “very high,” as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reflecting a similar trend across much of the nation.
Interestingly, while some COVID metrics are on the uptick in California, others are starting to show a decrease, suggesting the summer wave could be starting to decline.
Statewide, the positivity rate for coronavirus lab tests reached 11.72% for the week ending September 6, marking the highest level this season and an increase from 10.8% the week before. Still, levels in wastewater are notably lower than they were during last summer’s peak.
The current COVID hospitalization rate sits at 3.9 for every 100,000 residents, a slight drop from the previous week’s 4.14. Overall, hospitalizations due to COVID remain relatively low across the state, especially in comparison to earlier waves.
In areas like Los Angeles County and Santa Clara County, new COVID admissions have slightly decreased, though there’s been a minor uptick in Orange County. In San Francisco, some health professionals feel that the summer COVID wave may be reaching its peak.
“We are seeing a few more hospitalizations, but overall it seems less than last summer,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco. “It feels like we’re on a plateau.”
Those being hospitalized often include older individuals who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID in the last year, with some also experiencing a secondary infection known as superimposed bacterial pneumonia.
Los Angeles County
In L.A. County, there are indications that COVID activity may be peaking or beginning to decline. While viral levels in local wastewater continue to rise, the positivity rate for tests is decreasing.
For the week ending September 6, 12.2% of wastewater samples tested positive for COVID, down from 15.9% the previous week.
“We saw a decline in many indicators of COVID-19 activity in L.A. County this week,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health stated on Friday. “Though it’s too soon to confirm if we’ve passed the summer peak of COVID-19 activity this season, it suggests that community transmission is slowing.”
Orange County
In Orange County, the situation seems to reflect an active wave. “We appear to be in the midst of a wave at the moment,” said Dr. Christopher Zimmerman, deputy medical director of the county’s Communicable Disease Control Division.
The positivity rate has appeared to plateau in recent weeks; it was recorded at 15.3% for the week ending September 6, an increase from 12.9% the previous week, but a decrease from 17.9% two weeks prior.
Nonetheless, COVID is still driving some individuals to urgent care facilities. The countywide figure for emergency room visits related to COVID-like symptoms reached 2.9% for the week ending September 6, marking the highest level this year, up from 2.6% for the previous week.
San Diego County
In San Diego County, the positivity rate for coronavirus lab tests was 14.1% for the week ending September 6, down from 15.5% the week prior and 16.1% from the week ending August 23.
Ventura County
The impact of COVID continues to affect emergency rooms in Ventura County as well. The percentage of ER patients seeking treatment for COVID-related issues rose to 1.73% for the week ending September 12, up from 1.46% the week before.
San Francisco
In San Francisco, the positivity rate stood at 7.5% for the week ending September 7, a decrease from 8.4% the week before.
“COVID-19 activity in San Francisco is still elevated, but not as high as last summer’s peaks,” noted the local Department of Public Health.
Silicon Valley
In Santa Clara County, the coronavirus remains at a “high” level within the wastewater systems of San José and Palo Alto.
During the week ending Sunday, about 1.3% of ER visits were attributed to COVID, down from the prior week’s 2%.
