San Diego County To Be Placed On State's COVID-19 Monitoring List

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — A record number of coronavirus cases were reported Thursday in San Diego County, prompting the state to notify the county it will be placed on its "monitoring list" Friday.

Public health officials were expected to close or place new restrictions on additional businesses next week due to the county being added to the list.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced several new orders on Wednesday, activating the "dimmer switch" in the state's reopening process and singling out 19 counties for being on the monitoring list — which included every county in Southern California except San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The counties on Newsom's list were ordered to halt much of their indoor business activity for at least three weeks.

Also see: CA Dials Back Openings On Beaches, Restaurants, Theaters & More

More than 15,000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in San Diego County since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

A record 584 new cases were reported Thursday in the county heading into the Fourth of July holiday weekend, bringing the county's total to 15,207. The cases reported Thursday was the sixth time in a week the number of daily cases have been more than 400.

Of the 8,510 tests reported Thursday, 7 percent returned positive. The 14-day rolling average of positive tests was 4.9 percent.

An additional five people have died from COVID-19, raising the county's total to 377. The three men and two women died between June 26 and July 1 and ranged in age from 51 to 93. All had underlying health conditions.

A record 10 community outbreaks were reported Thursday, raising the one-week count to 22. This was well over the limit of seven the county set for itself, with a series of 13 triggers.

Eight of the new outbreaks — defined as three or more COVID-19 cases in a setting and in people of different households — were reported in restaurants and bars. One was traced to a grocery store and one in a business. Of the week's 22 outbreaks, 14 were traced to restaurants or bars.

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The spike in COVID-19 cases comes at a later date than San Diego's neighboring counties, but the end result was likely to be the same.

According to the state's metrics, the county was officially "flagged" for recording positive COVID-19 cases at a rate of more than 100 per 100,000 people. The county reported a rate of 1112.8 positive cases per 100,000 Thursday, a number that has increased from 103.8 per 100,000 just three days ago.

If the numbers don't improve, several businesses could be forced to change the way they do business indoors by as early as Tuesday.

Restrictions would remain in place for a minimum of three weeks. Businesses affected include restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, cardrooms, family entertainment centers, museums and zoos.

Also see:

• California Coronavirus: Latest Updates On Cases, Orders, Closures
• Coronavirus In San Diego County: Latest News
• Leaders Warn San Diego County Could Soon Be On State's Watch List
• Restaurants To Close By 10 P.M. Nightly In San Diego County
• Bars, Breweries, Wineries Ordered To Close In San Diego County

City News Service and Patch editor Kristina Houck contributed to this report.