As San Diego County awaits guidance on the effects of its removal from the state's coronavirus watchlist, public health officials reported 304 new COVID-19 cases and eight additional deaths Friday, raising the region's totals to 35,912 cases and 652 deaths.
Two women and six men died. Their ages ranged from early 50s to late 80s. At least seven had underlying medical conditions while it is unknown if the eighth did as well.
The county was officially removed from the state's monitoring list Tuesday, setting in motion a 14-day countdown that could see K-12 students back in the classroom as soon as Sept. 1, depending on the decisions of individual school districts.
However, 27 schools — mostly private, religious schools — have been approved in the last three days for in-person learning by the county.
The schools include Calvary Christian Academy, Francis Parker School, Chabad Hebrew Academy, San Diego French American School, La Jolla Country Day School and others. They were among nearly 50 schools that had applied for a waiver to the county's public health guidelines regarding in-person teaching.
Of the 6,567 tests reported Friday, 5% returned positive, bringing the 14-day rolling average to 3.9%, well below the state's 8% guideline. The seven-day rolling average of tests is 7,641 daily.
Of the total positive cases in the county, 2,946 — or 8.2% — have required hospitalization since the pandemic began, and 726 — or 2% — were admitted to an intensive care unit. The current number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital rose to 278 Thursday, with 103 of those in the ICU.
County health officials reported seven new community outbreaks Wednesday, bringing the number of outbreaks in the past week to 19.
Two new outbreaks were reported each in restaurant/bar settings and businesses, while single outbreaks were reported in a healthcare setting, a grocery setting and a faith-based organization.
The county continues to keep confidential the names and locations of businesses with outbreaks.
The county continued to make progress Friday, with a case rate of 83.7 positive COVID-19 tests per 100,000 people, below the state's 100 per 100,000 guidelines.
