California is expected to surpass New York as the US state with the highest number of coronavirus deaths, a grim reminder of the number of pandemic victims, even with the vaccine launch and a dramatic drop in new cases offer hope that life will end. for getting back to normal.
Deaths at Covid-19 reached 44,494 on Tuesday in California, the most populous state in the United States. In New York, which was particularly hard hit in the early days of the pandemic, the total death toll was 44,969 on Tuesday.
California started the pandemic as a leader in containing the virus, but has emerged this winter as one of the most affected states in the country. Golden State took six months to register its first 10,000 deaths, but in just one month, from December to January, the total rose from 20,000 to 30,000. The state now has an average of 450 deaths per day.
Los Angeles County, the most populous in the country, has become the hardest hit in the state, with public health officials estimating that one in three Los Angeles residents has been infected with the virus at some point. Almost 41% of Covid-19 fatalities in California came from Los Angeles County, which represents a quarter of the state’s population.
Echoing national trends, the pandemic hit California’s population unevenly and hit Latin residents disproportionately. Latinos represent 38.9% of the state’s population, but account for 46% of deaths, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. The average number of Latino residents dying from coronavirus each day in Los Angeles County has increased by more than 1,000% since November.
Across the country, new cases, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 continue to fall rapidly. Also in California, the numbers have dropped. Hospitalizations fell 34% and admissions to intensive care units fell 26%.
#COVID-19 UPDATE:
– A month ago, we reported 53,000 cases. Today: 8,251 cases.
– A month ago, we reported a test positivity rate of 14%. Today: 4.8%.
– Hospitalizations: drop of 34% in the last 2 weeks.
– ICU admissions: drop of 26% in the last 2 weeks.
Signs of hope continue.
– Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 9, 2021
But in California, as in other states, the improvement masks a continuing march of illness and death, which remains higher now than at the previous pandemic peak last summer.
Public health experts fear that a wave propelled by Sunday’s Super Bowl parties, as well as the arrival of new highly contagious variants of the virus, could lead to another leap in cases before most Americans are vaccinated.
In an effort to accelerate the launch of vaccines that are expected to prevent the spread of the pandemic, Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that his government planned to increase the number of vaccine doses sent to states as of February 15.
Part of the expanded offer will be sent to community health centers in an effort to improve access to the vaccine for the majority of the poor and minority population that the centers serve, the White House said on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, about 33 million Americans had received at least one dose of the vaccine to fight the coronavirus, reported the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“This vaccine is the weapon that will win this war!” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference on Tuesday. Ten percent of New York state residents received the vaccine, he said.
Part of the reason for the high death toll in California is the state’s huge population, almost 40 million. In terms of deaths per capita, California, with 113 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, ranks 32nd in the country. In comparison, New York, with 248 deaths per 100,000, ranks second after New Jersey, which had about 230 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 residents.
But some are still cautious, especially after California governor Gavin Newsom suspended the second shelter order there late last month, while the funeral industry in Los Angeles County faces a terrible backlog of thousands of bodies. Many small businesses welcomed the reopening and the chance to start winning again, while others questioned the disproportionate impact the reopening would have on essential color workers.
In the next phase of containing the virus, Newsom moved to open several mass vaccination sites across the state. The sites are already up and running at Disneyland and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, with new sites announced at PetCo Park in San Diego and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara just this week.