The omicron variant is fueling an uptick in COVID-19 cases across California, according to the recent data that does not show spikes in hospitalizations or death rates.
Just three weeks after a reported omicron case in San Francisco became the first known case in the United States, the California Department of Public Health has determined “at least three health systems in California have reported approximately 50-70 percent of COVID-19 cases are consistent with Omicron.”
While positivity rates and cases rates are spiking, hospitalizations have yet to see a sharp upwards spike. Experts believe high vaccination rates in the Bay Area will help keep the curves for hospitalizations and deaths here relatively flat, but it is too soon to know for sure as hospitalizations and deaths tend to lag by days and weeks.
In the Bay Area, several counties have reported their highest positive test rates in months.
As of Dec. 24, Santa Clara County reported more than 600 positive tests in just one day this past week, more than were reported on any single day since January 2021. And, San Mateo County just reported more cases in a day than any day during the Summer 2021 surge, a rapid increase from earlier this month. San Francisco’s daily case rate, meanwhile, is approaching the highest the city has ever reported, including last winter’s surge. Marin is also experiencing the highest new case rates since last winter’s surge.
The test positivity rate statewide more than doubled from just over 2 percent two weeks ago to nearly 5 percent as of the most recent available data. And case rates have followed a similar pattern. The seven-day average of new daily cases per 100,000 residents had dipped below 10 briefly at the end of November, but has grown since then to more than 20, according to the most recently available data. Source: www.mercurynews.com