San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency reported 11,235 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths in its latest data.
Friday's data increased the county's cumulative totals to 639,139 cases and 4,566 deaths.
The number of COVID-positive patients in San Diego County hospitals decreased by 15 people to 1,288 on Friday, according to the latest state data.
RELATED: Preteens may be vaxxed without parents under California bill
Of the hospitalized patients, 205 were in intensive care, down nine from the previous day.
Some of those patients may have been hospitalized for other reasons and had their COVID status discovered by hospital-mandated tests.
To help alleviate the strain on local hospitals and prepare them for the expected surge in admissions, the HHSA recommends that only people needing emergency care should go to a hospital emergency department.
COVID-19 testing should be reserved for those at higher risk of serious illness and people who need it the most. People should not go to an emergency department for testing with no or mild COVID symptoms, officials said.
The federal government rolled out a program this week that allows every residential household in the United States to order up to four at-home COVID-19 test kits free of charge. Tests can be ordered online at COVIDtests.gov. Those ordering the test kits need only provide a name and address. No identification, credit card or health insurance information is required.
RELATED: There's now a phone line to order your free at-home COVID tests
To date, 959,697 San Diegans have received vaccine booster shots. The CDC recommends a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot five months after the second dose. A Johnson & Johnson booster is recommended two months after the second dose. Pfizer boosters have been approved for everyone 12 years and older. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters are only available for adults 18 years and older.
More than 2.83 million San Diegans — around 90% of those eligible — have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 2.5 million — or 79.5% — are fully vaccinated.
There were 75,673 new tests reported Friday, and the seven-day average positivity rate was 27.5%, down from 29.3% on Tuesday. The county reports this figure on Tuesdays and Fridays.
