San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency reported the cumulative COVID-19 cases have surpassed 600,000 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Over four days, the county reported a total of 25,454 new COVID-19 positive cases. With this, the county’s cumulative totals increased to 604,078 cases and 4,548 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Information on tests, infections, or death is not released by the county during holidays or weekends.
The most recent figures show a total of 1,289 COVID-19 related hospitalizations, which is an increase of 29 people. Of that number, 96 people were in intensive care. Despite this number, experts say the hospitalization rates are declining.
UC San Diego Chief Medical Officer Christopher Longhurst said in a Twitter statement that there are "multiple signs we are sliding down the Omicron slope," as case rates and hospitalizations seem to decline compared to last week.
Many patients admitted to hospitals for other reasons discover COVID-19 positive status through hospital-mandated tests.
There were 40,017 new tests reported Friday. The seven-day average positivity rate was 28.9 percent, up from 28.8 percent on Thursday.
County health officials urge people to avoid testing at emergency departments. It is recommended for only people needing emergency care to visit the hospital emergency department.
Local hospitals announced they ran out of spaces with the rise of COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday, Scripps Mercy Chula Vista made the call to operate under internal disaster mode, and Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center experienced the same. The pandemic has placed strains on valuable hospital resources such as staffing and Intensive care unit beds which have been scarce with the surge of cases.
Over 2.81 million San Diegans have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 2.49 million are fully vaccinated. There are 906,615 San Diegans who have received vaccine booster shots, according to the most recent figures.
