San Diego County public health officials Thursday reported 1,400 new COVID-19 cases, five deaths and 104 new hospitalizations — discouraging news as the Delta variant continues to surge.
The newly hospitalized patients bump the county total to more than 700 people currently in the hospital with the illness. One month ago, that number was 179. Patients in intensive care units increased by one to 143, but that still marks a increase of nearly 100 people since July 19, when 45 people were in ICU beds with COVID-19.
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Thursday's data from the county Human Health and Services Agency increases the cumulative infection count to 319,582, while coronavirus-related deaths increased to 3,839.
A total of 21,989 tests were reported Thursday, and the percentage of new positive cases over the past week was 8.7%.
San Diego County's case rate per 100,000 residents is 28.7 for the general population, but that can be parsed further to just 6 for fully vaccinated residents and 55.7 for those not fully vaccinated. That figure has multiplied more than tenfold since as recently as July 7, when the average daily case rate was just 2.7 per 100,000.
Officials expect the number of reported cases to keep increasing as more schools and businesses are requiring COVID testing.
A total of 43 new community outbreaks were confirmed in the past seven days: 12 in business settings, eight in grade school settings, six in restaurant/bar settings, four in health care settings, three in daycare/preschool/childcare settings, three in retail settings, two in hotel/resort/spa settings, and one each in faith-based, government, restaurant, fitness/gym and community-based settings.
Federal health officials Wednesday recommended all vaccinated Americans get booster shots eight months after they become fully vaccinated. That amounts to a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine — and "likely" an additional dose for people who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.
Those shots could begin the week of Sept. 20, according to a joint statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services.
The CDC and HHS said data "make very clear" that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination — which prompted their recommendation of booster shots for all.
