Santa Clara County Reports 172 New Coronavirus Cases, 3 Deaths

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported 172 additional coronavirus cases Thursday.

The latest report brings the countywide case count to 25,705.

The county reported three additional coronavirus-related fatalities Thursday, bringing its COVID-19 death toll to 424.

There were 99 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County as of Thursday, of which 27 were being treated in intensive care units.

Elsewhere around the Bay Area and beyond, the coronavirus case is exploding in the United States, which recorded a record number of cases for a second straight day, NBC News reports.

There were 120,048 cases reported Thursday, a day after more than 100,000 cases were reported for the first time.

The Pac-12 Conference announced Thursday that it approved a request from the University of California at Berkeley to cancel the school's scheduled football game against the University of Washington after a Cal football player tested positive for the coronavirus.

Cal announced the positive test on its Twitter account Wednesday, noting that the player is asymptomatic and is being quarantined in addition to multiple other players who may have been exposed.

The game was subsequently canceled because Cal would not have the minimum number of scholarship players available during the quarantine period.

In the face of rising COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in Contra Costa County over the past week, county public health officials on Wednesday tightened restrictions on business openings and public gatherings, starting Friday.

County health officials on Tuesday told the Board of Supervisors the rising COVID-19 case counts -- reflecting trends in the Bay Area, state and nation -- and specific numeric metrics could result in a return of Contra Costa County to the "red tier" of California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy from the less restrictive "orange tier."

That regression could come as early as this Tuesday, only two weeks after the county had moved into the orange tier.

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There have been 956,779 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 17,856 coronavirus-related deaths in California as of Thursday night according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States had 9,606,369 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 234,911 coronavirus-related fatalities as of Thursday night.

There have been 48,600,362 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,232,209 deaths reported globally as of Thursday night.

— Bay City News contributed to this report