San Diego County Sees Slight Drop In COVID Hospitalizations

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — The number of COVID-positive patients in San Diego County hospitals decreased by 12 people to 1,276, according to the latest state data released Wednesday.

Of those patients, 224 were in intensive care, down eight from Tuesday.

Some patients may have been hospitalized for other reasons and had their COVID status discovered by hospital-mandated tests.

The number of available ICU beds decreased by four to 174 on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, San Diego County reported 6,333 new COVID-19 cases and 18 additional deaths associated with the virus, bringing its cumulative totals to 668,968 cases and 4,604 deaths since the pandemic began.

To help alleviate the strain on local hospitals, the county's Health and Human Services Agency recommends that only people needing emergency care go to a hospital emergency department. COVID-19 testing should be reserved for those at higher risk of serious illness and people who need it the most.

People should not go to an emergency department for testing with no or mild COVID symptoms, officials said.

There were 42,736 new tests reported on Tuesday, and the seven-day average positivity rate was 26.6%, down from 27.5% on Friday. The county reports this figure on Tuesdays and Fridays.

— City News Service