California is on the verge of racking up 1 million coronavirus cases
California is approaching this week a record of cases that only Texas reached so far
California is on the verge of surpassing one million confirmed coronavirus infections , a milestone that demonstrates both the toll the pandemic has taken so far, and the risks that continue.
As of Wednesday, amid a continued increase, the state had reported just over 984,000 total coronavirus cases , according to the Department of Public Health.
That rate, much higher than a month ago, puts California on track to break the 1 million mark this week.
Only one other state, Texas, has reached that threshold.
The number of hospitalizations and deaths are indicators that lag behind the spread of the coronavirus and may reflect exposure to the virus that occurred weeks before. Those who have been infected during the last peak “will not become patients in hospitals for two to three weeks,” according to Dr. Mark Ghaly , California Secretary of Health and Human Services.
California had 7,464 new confirmed cases Tuesday, according to the daily report from the Department of Health and Human Services.
As the number of cases continues to rise in California, so will the total number of people who will die from the pandemic.
There have been 18,070 deaths from COVID-19 in the state as of Wednesday .
There were 3,224 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in California as of Tuesday, an increase of about 38% from two weeks ago, according to the latest state data.
The number of infected patients in intensive care, 889 , has increased 34% compared to two weeks ago.
In Los Angeles County
State trends are also manifesting at the local level in Los Angeles County .
Health officials reported 2,152 new cases of coronaviruses on Wednesday , the sixth time in the past week that the county’s daily total has surpassed 2,000.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have also risen steadily in the county, from 825 last Thursday to 903 at the latest count.
For the first time, Los Angeles residents received a text alert from the city on Tuesday warning that cases were increasing.
Until an effective vaccine is available, actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are preventive: frequent hand washing, wearing masks and respecting social distancing are essential.
