California COVID-19 plunges to new lows, fueling hope big reopening won't bring new surge - Los Angeles Times

California will fully reopen its economy next Tuesday under remarkably favorable conditions, with the COVID-19 risk rapidly receding and new cases being reported at the lowest levels in 14 months.

The numbers and rapid rollout of vaccinations have given public health officials even more confidence that life can return to some semblance of normal without the horrific surges that thwarted California’s two previous attempts at reopening.

That rollout of vaccines, especially in California’s most populous areas, have helped tame COVID-19 and tamped down transmission.

Also a factor, especially in Los Angeles County, is the lingering immunity of many people who survived COVID-19 during the devastating surges in the last 15 months.

Now, California is reporting an average of fewer than 1,000 new coronavirus per day over the most recent seven-day period, according to data compiled by The Times.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are now at the lowest levels since California began systematically tracking that statistic on March 30, 2020, when 1,617 people with COVID-19 were in hospitals.

As of Wednesday, there were 1,001 people with COVID-19 in California’s hospitals, the most recent data available; that’s down 95% from the peak of nearly 22,000 hospitalized in early January.

At its peak, California was reporting 549 COVID-19 deaths a day over a weekly period.

Tomás Aragón, state public health officer and director of the California Department of Public Health, said this week.

“On all accounts, from a vaccine standpoint, California is doing quite well,” Dr.

Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary, told reporters Wednesday.

That work is all the more essential now, officials and experts say, as California remains short of the level of vaccine coverage — usually estimated between 70% and 85% — believed necessary to finally put the pandemic in the rearview mirror.

Only about 46% of residents statewide are fully vaccinated, meaning they have either received both shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or the single required dose of Johnson & Johnson, Times’ data show?

As of late May, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services estimated that 63% of residents there were protected from COVID-19 — 38% because of prior infection.

That, combined with the relatively robust vaccine coverage, is why Gandhi said she doesn’t think California will backslide into a worse wave of the pandemic.

County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

Who can stop wearing masks, and where: California’s COVID reopening rules explained.

Who can stop wearing masks, and where: California’s COVID reopening rules explained

With California set to reopen its economy fully on Tuesday, wearing a mask will become optional in many public settings

Effective that same day, California will rescind many of the restrictions for fully vaccinated people that have long been a part of daily pandemic life

How do I get cash prizes from California’s $116-million COVID vaccine lottery

How do I get cash prizes from California’s $116-million COVID vaccine lottery

Californians who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 will also be able to shed their face masks in most situations

However, those who aren’t fully vaccinated will need to keep theirs on in businesses and other indoor public settings