Following a spate of infections and hospitalizations in the summer, California has the lowest coronavirus transmission rate of any state.
The most populous state, California, is the only one where “significant” coronavirus transmission has been observed, according to the CDC’s color-coded map. So is Puerto Rico. In all other U.S. states, virus transmission is classified as “high,” defined as having 100 or more cases per 100,000 people in the previous
California has the highest rate among states, with 94 cases per 100,000 people. Texas has a rate of 386, and Florida is 296. The California Department of Public Health credited relatively high vaccination rates in the state before the delta variant’s arrival for making a difference, as well as other measures such as masking. According to state statistics, around 70% of eligible Californians have been vaccinated fully, while another 8% have received their first injection.
“The secret to California has been the high vaccination rates, which we started in an acceptable position,” Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a University of California San Francisco medical school professor of epidemiology, said. “We never got as far as Florida since it’s against the backdrop of relatively strong immunization levels.
On Monday, a state law went into effect requiring attendees at indoor events with 1,000 or more people to show proof of complete vaccination or a negative test. Previously, visitors could only attest that they were vaccinated or had a negative immunization test.
Following a summer rise in cases, California has seen coronavirus infections and hospitalizations decrease as of late. Following the arrival of the delta variant, there were approximately 37 new cases each day for nearly two weeks, with hospitalization rates dropping by 22% to just over 6,000.
The summer surge occurred after California eased numerous restrictions on businesses in June. It followed a much more severe winter surge, when officials closed stores and schools in the state of around 40 million people. During that time, ill patients clogged many hospitals, and thousands perished every week. California’s death toll has now surpassed 68,000, putting it in first place among the 50 states.
According to Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at University of California, Irvine, the severity of last winter may have helped to mitigate this most recent increase in California. “It’s a combination of immunity to vaccination and the large winter wave,” he explained.
On Monday, Los Angeles County, which contains one in four of the state’s residents and has some of the most stringent virus rules, published a 1.2 percent positivity rate.
Barbara Ferrer, the director of public health for LA County, added that measures such as requiring masks and restricting locations where large numbers of unvaccinated people congregate are required to end what she termed a “cycle of surges” fueled by new variants.
In Orange County, which has less stringent rules than LA, coronavirus infections, positivity rates, and hospital visits have all decreased in recent weeks, according to Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county’s deputy health director. She added that vaccinations were likely responsible for the recent rise since it was first identified in the county
“Everything, in terms of case rates and hospitalizations, is going down,” she stated. “ county’s positivity rate has dropped to 3.7% from 6.8% in late August. We’re starting to get out of this wave now, which is fantastic.
