Coronavirus: CA positivity plateaus, as instances spike in UK

After regular decline since mid-July, some metrics of COVID-19 unfold are displaying early indicators of plateauing in California, as transmission has begun to pattern upward as soon as once more in some elements of the world.

The California Department of Public Health reported the latest daily case rate at 7.5 per 100,000 residents in a weekly replace Thursday, down 13% up to now week for its lowest level since early April.

CDPH reported 1,746 virus-positive patients in hospital beds, a 7% decline up to now week and the smallest tally since mid-Could.

However decline in the important thing indicator of check positivity has slowed, state information present. CDPH reported positivity at 4.7% as of Thursday, down minimally from 4.9% three weeks earlier. Within the prior three-week stretch, from late August to mid-September, positivity fell from 8.4% to 4.9%.

The plateau comes as instances and hospitalizations with COVID-19 have spiked in current weeks in the UK and different elements of Europe, which have usually served as a bellwether for U.S. coronavirus traits, and as new subvariants proceed to emerge world wide.

Well being officers proceed to say that vaccines, together with the lately licensed bivalent booster doses that focus on each the unique strains of COVID-19 in addition to the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, stay efficient.

The booster uptake price stays low in California and throughout the U.S. CDPH in an Oct. 7 replace reported that 28.9 million Californians have received an initial series of a coronavirus vaccine, but only 16.7 million have also received a booster dose.

California’s two worst surges to this point have come the previous two winters. Its deadliest wave started in winter 2020, earlier than vaccines have been extensively out there; and the steepest surge by way of new infections peaked this January with the arrival of the unique omicron variant, BA.1.

What are the most recent COVID-19 variants circulating?

The omicron subvariant often known as BA.5 stays dominant nationwide, reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday at 68% of new cases final week.

However a handful of newer variants are making up a quickly rising share of instances, significantly a pair of latest omicron offshoots often known as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which well being specialists have mentioned seem to evade immune safety — a standard trait in new variants that overtake earlier ones to develop into dominant.

BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have surged from a mixed 2.8% of U.S. instances two weeks in the past to five.7% final week and 11.4% on this week’s replace, primarily doubling in every of the previous two weeks.

In the UK, national health data updated Thursday showed cases, hospitalizations and deaths all on the rise, with new infections up 21% up to now week.

The U.K. Health Security Agency in an Oct. 7 report mentioned BQ-family variants “present proof of a constructive progress price in comparison with BA.5,” as do a pair of different omicron subvariants referred to as BA.2.75.2 and BF.7.

The report says these three variants may very well be no less than partly chargeable for the present surge, however that it stays too early within the improve to make sure.

To date in the USA, variants BF.7 and BA.2.75.2 have unfold much less shortly than BQ.1.1. BF.7 elevated from 4.2% to five.4% up to now week, in accordance with Friday’s replace from the CDC, and BA.2.75.2 from 1% to 1.4%.

Sacramento-area numbers by county

Sacramento County’s newest case price is 7.1 per 100,000 residents, state well being officers mentioned in Thursday’s replace, a 12% lower from one week earlier.

Hospitals in Sacramento County have been treating 95 virus sufferers Wednesday, state information up to date Thursday present, down from 106 one week earlier. The intensive care unit decreased to 12 from 16.

Placer County’s newest case price is 4.6 per 100,000 residents, a 35% lower from one week earlier.

Hospitals in Placer County have been treating 32 virus sufferers Wednesday, down from 38 one week earlier. The ICU whole remained at 4.

Yolo County’s newest case price is 7.1 per 100,000 residents, an 18% lower from one week earlier.

Hospitals in Yolo County have been treating 4 virus sufferers Wednesday, down from 5 per week earlier. The ICU whole remained at zero.

El Dorado County’s newest case price is 4.2 per 100,000 residents, a 31% lower from one week earlier.

Hospitals in El Dorado County have been treating 9 virus sufferers Wednesday, up from 5 per week earlier. The ICU whole elevated to 2 from zero.

Sutter County’s newest case price is 6.8 per 100,000 residents, down 22% from final week, and Yuba County’s is 5.9 per 100,000, down 6%, state well being officers reported Tuesday.

The one hospital in Yuba County, which serves the Yuba-Sutter bicounty space, was treating two virus sufferers Wednesday, down from 5 per week earlier. The ICU whole decreased to zero from two.

Michael McGough anchors The Sacramento Bee’s breaking information reporting workforce, overlaying public security and different native tales. A Sacramento native and lifelong capital resident, he interned at The Bee whereas attending Sacramento State, the place he earned a level in journalism.