San Diego County hits another record with 497 new cases amid coronavirus outbreak

SAN DIEGO —  San Diego County health officials reported a record 497 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with a new report of one fatality bringing the local death toll to 361.

The latest fatality was a woman in her early 60s who had one or more underlying health conditions, the county said. She died Thursday.

The single-day high for the county follows three straight days of record highs that ended Friday with 440 new cases. The number of new cases dipped slightly to 436 Saturday.

The new batch of positive cases represented 6% of the 8,301 test results reported to the county Saturday. The daily rate exceeded the 3.9% 14-day average, continuing the recent trend after weeks of relative stability.

The county also reported two new community outbreaks, defined as three or more confirmed cases from different households contracted in the same location. With those additions, the county has reached eight community outbreaks within seven days, or one above the number to trigger a response from county health officials.

When the trigger was first hit June 18, county officials responded by saying they would not immediately act if Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed a business or activity that had been shut down to resume. They also said they would increase enforcement of local health orders that require businesses to follow certain protocols such as the wearing of facial coverings and social distancing.

Since then, the county has ordered two restaurants and Belmont Park closed.

In all, the county has reported 13,334 positive cases of the coronavirus this year. Of those, 1,747, or 13.1%, have required hospitalization. Of people hospitalized, about 27 % have been admitted to intensive care units.

While the percentage and number of positive cases have increased in San Diego County, patients with COVID-19 have not overwhelmed local hospitals, which remain well below capacity. The numbers also are far worse in other places.

On Friday, Newsom reported that Imperial County’s two-week positive rate of coronavirus tests was almost 24%.

Nationwide, more than 44,000 new cases were reported Saturday, the second day in a row they reached more than 40,000. Four states reported new single-day highs, and California reported 6,000 new cases.