San Diego County Tops 20,000 Coronavirus Cases

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA —The number of coronavirus cases in San Diego County passed 20,000 Monday as public health officials prepared for major changes in the way the region will handle the pandemic.

Officials reported 419 new COVID-19 cases, raising the county's total case count to 20,348. The death toll remained at 422.

Of the 6,542 tests reported Monday, 6 percent returned positive, in line with the 14-day rolling average.

"The pandemic is not over," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer. "The virus is still in our community, and it is widespread."

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Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday ordered San Diego County to close indoor activities at various businesses amid a continued surge in coronavirus cases.

Indoor operations must stop at fitness centers, malls, hair salons and barbershops, nail and other personal-care salons, tattoo parlors, places of worship, and non-essential office settings. The businesses may remain open, but only if they can be modified to operate outside or by pick-up service, Newsom said.

"This virus is not going away anytime soon," he said.

Nick Macchione, director of the county's Health and Human Services Agency, reported the county's COVID-19 testing capacity was stretched to its limit. Local biotechnology company Helix announced a partnership with the county to provide 2,000 tests a day with a 24-hour turnaround for the foreseeable future, but supplies both locally and nationally remain critically low.

"I'll be clear and frank, it's not a testing windfall," Macchione said of the partnership.

Although the county has averaged more than 8,000 tests a day over the last week, a shortage in testing supplies has stretched supply lines to the limit, County Supervisor Greg Cox said.

Before the partnership with Helix, Macchione said the county was seriously considering doing what some other jurisdictions in the country have done and close state- or county-run testing sites to better consolidate resources.

For now, the county can keep all testing sites open and all existing appointments for tests on the books, but both Macchione and Wooten explained the county would shift testing priorities back to those showing symptoms and those most at risk for the illness, including first responders, the elderly, and people with underlying health conditions.

Of the total positive cases, 2,052 or 10.1 percent have been hospitalized, and 538 or 2.6 percent of cases have been admitted to an intensive care unit.

No new community outbreaks were reported Monday. The weekly total of 17, however, is still well above the county's metric of no more than seven in a one-week span.

About 137 of every 100,000 San Diegans are testing positive for the illness, well above the state's criterion of 100 per 100,000.

Also see:

• California Coronavirus: Latest Updates On Cases, Orders, Closures
• Coronavirus In San Diego County: Latest News
• San Diego County Ordered To Move Businesses, Services Outdoors
• San Diego Unified Schools To Remain Closed Due To Coronavirus

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