California Coronavirus Hospitalizations Explode By 81%

CALIFORNIA — Hospitals across the state have seen an 81.3 percent increase in coronavirus patients since the week of Nov. 10, health officials said Tuesday. And the number of patients admitted to intensive care units for COVID-19 shot up 57.1 percent within 14 days.

"We are truly in a surge here in California," said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's public health secretary, said at a Tuesday afternoon coronavirus briefing.

Some 5.6 percent of coronavirus tests are now coming back positive, a 51 percent increase in infections since Nov. 10, when the positivity rate was 3.7 percent.

Ghaly also announced that seven more counties had moved back to more-restrictive tiers on the state's COVID-19 risk reopening blueprint.

"We often emphasize the case numbers, but really the cases are concerning in part because they foreshadow what the impact is going to be on our hospitals," Ghaly said.

Ghaly said that he and other public health officials are confident in predicting that 12 percent of Tuesday's reported cases will end up hospitalized in about two to three weeks.

"So remember this number — 'an 81.3 percent increase over the last 14 days' — there are 5,844 Californians in the hospital because of COVID," Ghaly said. "These are based on case numbers two weeks ago."

Two weeks ago, the state was reporting around 7,000 daily cases.

"We're more than double on that today, and this tells us that the pressure on our hospitals will continue," Ghaly said. "It's not just on our regular beds, but it's on one of the most precious resources we have in health care delivery, an intensive care unit bed, we've seen a 57 percent increase over the last 14 days."

Some 175 hospitals across California were forced to operate with staffing waivers as intensive care units faced added pressure, Ghaly said.

"Hospital systems are stretched, we know that," he added.

California recorded 15,329 new cases Tuesday, a 1.4 percent increase from Monday. And the state recorded more than 15,400 cases on Saturday, shattering records for the highest number of cases reported in a single day. Ghaly suggested that the cases recorded Tuesday could appear to be lower due to a lag in reporting over the weekend.

"The fact that it is nearly our highest [daily] case number ... is of continued concern," he said.

The steady uptick in both cases and hospitalizations has brought a grim outlook to Thanksgiving week, as many Californians will be faced with the tough decision of how to safely celebrate on Thursday.

Ghaly reiterated that Californians should only gather with those within their immediate households for the upcoming holiday and to resist gathering with senior or at-risk family members. He recommended virtually celebrating with elderly family members and to drop off meals to senior or at-risk family members who may be celebrating alone

"I, like many of you, are disappointed about how this Thanksgiving will look different from year's past," Ghaly said. "I hope that as you decide how to gather, how to celebrate your Thanksgiving, that you do it with your household [and] do it safely."

A significant surge in coronavirus cases prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue a series of new restrictions last week. Over the weekend, that upward trajectory continued as cases topped 15,400 Saturday, pushing the state to the grim milestone of 1.1 million cases.

The weekend's record high numbers coincided with the beginning of California's monthlong curfew for 94 percent of Californians living in purple tier counties.

The curfew — from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. — prohibits movement, gatherings and nonessential businesses to be open during the late-night hours.

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