Santa Clara County Reports 339 New Coronavirus Cases, 2 Deaths

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported 339 additional coronavirus cases Wednesday.

The latest report brings the countywide case count to 17,802.

The county reported two additional coronavirus-related fatalities Wednesday, leaving its COVID-19 death toll at 250.

There were 128 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County as of Wednesday, of which 46 were being treated in intensive care units.

Santa Clara County officials advised business owners Wednesday to seek legal counsel rather than appeal to the county for help on what to do if customers are not respecting local and state public health guidelines to reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus.

As businesses reopen in the county amid the pandemic, residents are required to follow the state's face covering mandate when indoors or in close proximity to someone who does not live in their household.

State and local public health officials also continue to advise people to maintain at least 6 feet of distance from others and stay home when feeling sick. County spokesman Todd Naffziger said a business attorney would be better fit than the county to help a business owner determine how they should react and whether they can legally refuse service to a customer who refuses to wear a mask or follow other health and safety rules.

State indicators of the novel coronavirus's spread have trended down as the state's average daily test positivity rate has fallen below 4.5 percent in the last seven days, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.

Cases have been trending south since mid-July, when the state issued a temporary shutdown of indoor operations for businesses like bars, movie theaters and restaurants.

Since hovering around 7.5 percent at that time, the state's test positivity rate has also steadily declined. While the seven-day positivity average sits at 4.4 percent, the state's 14-day average daily positivity rate now sits at 5.1 percent.

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There have been 720,872 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 13,311 coronavirus-related deaths in California as of Wednesday afternoon according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States had 6,112,638 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 185,674 coronavirus-related fatalities as of Wednesday afternoon.

There have been 25,928,197 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 860,883 deaths reported globally as of Wednesday afternoon.

— Bay City News contributed to this report

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