A COVID wave is washing over California, with the state seeing continued increases in the number of newly confirmed cases and hospitalizations as some officials urged the public to take greater precautions.
The extent of the recent increases has prompted some county-level health officials to recommend that residents once again consider wearing masks in indoor public settings, at least until transmission has declined.
California currently has “high” coronavirus levels in sewage, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And increases are being seen across the Golden State, from Los Angeles County to the San Francisco Bay Area to areas around the state capital.
The CDC estimates that coronavirus infections are either “growing” or “likely growing” in 30 states, including California. Twenty-one states have either “very high” or “high” viral levels in wastewater. Of all regions of the U.S., the West has the highest levels of coronavirus in wastewater, followed by the South.
“California is experiencing a summer COVID wave,” said Dr. Aimee Sisson, the health officer in Yolo County, just west of Sacramento.
The rate at which coronavirus lab tests are coming back positive also continues to climb. For the week that ended Aug. 23, 12.07% of tests across the state came back positive, up from a rate of 6.03% for the week that ended July 26.
Similar leaps in rates were seen in L.A. County, where the positive test rate was 13.44%, up from 8.11% four weeks earlier; in Orange County, it was 18.1%, up from 9.4%; and in San Francisco, it was 8.7%, up from 7.1%.
Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, the regional chief of infectious diseases at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, said she received many calls related to outpatient cases of COVID-19 while on call over the Labor Day weekend.
“We are definitely seeing an upswing in patients with COVID,” Hudson said. “Thankfully, inpatient cases are few and far between. Wastewater levels, however, are still rising in Los Angeles, so we have not reached the top of this current wave.”
Overall, this summer hasn’t seen COVID activity to the extent of a year ago, when the state experienced its worst summer wave since 2022.
“We will have to see what direction things go over the next one to two weeks to have a better idea” of where we end up, Hudson said. Students returning to school as well as from travel and socialization over the holiday weekend, could fuel further spread of the virus, she said.
Across California, the overall level of COVID hospital admissions remains “low,” but is increasing.
For the week that ended Aug. 23, there were 3.62 hospital admissions for COVID for every 100,000 residents; up from a comparable rate of 1.9 four weeks earlier. The most recent rate is also higher than during the peak seen during the winter, which maxed out at 2.61 admissions for every 100,000 residents.
Emergency department visits for COVID-like illness are also up in Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Clara counties. In L.A. County, 2.8% of emergency room visits were for illnesses such as fever plus a cough or sore throat, up from 2.2% four weeks earlier. In Orange County, 2.6% of ER visits were for COVID-like illness, up from 1.5%.
“The current percent of COVID-19 positivity is higher than at any point last winter,” according to Dr. Christopher Zimmerman of the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Communicable Disease Control Division and Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county’s health officer.
As of Aug. 23, 1.9% of total hospitalizations in Orange County were due to COVID — higher than at any point seen during the winter, but less than half of last summer’s peak of 4%.
However, it’s unclear “how high or how severe this summer’s COVID wave may be,” Zimmerman and Chinsio-Kwong said, noting that this year’s rise began later than it did in 2024.
In Los Angeles County, COVID-19 hospitalizations are currently about as high as last winter’s peak, but remain lower than the peaks of the last two summers, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
Sisson said that coronavirus levels are high in the wastewater of both Sacramento and West Sacramento, one of the most populous cities in Yolo County. Sisson recommended that everyone age 2 and up in West Sacramento “wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces,” since coronavirus levels in sewage there are high.
For other areas of Yolo County, including UC Davis and Woodland, where viral levels in wastewater are considered “medium,” Sisson said she recommends that people wear masks around others indoors “if they are 65 or older, have a weakened immune system, have an underlying medical condition that puts them at a greater risk of severe COVID-19, or spend time around people who fall into these categories.”
“Wearing a high-quality mask such as an N95, KN95, or KF94 that fits well continues to provide strong protection,” Sisson said.
Coronavirus cases are increasing in Sacramento County, and coronavirus wastewater levels are considered high, according to Casey Camacho, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Department of Health Services.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health also is encouraging people “to consider wearing a well-fitted mask in crowded indoor spaces, including when traveling, and to stay at home if they feel sick.” Coronavirus levels in San Francisco wastewater, and COVID hospitalizations, are up this summer “but remain below last summer’s peaks.”
In Santa Clara County, Northern California’s most populous county, COVID-related hospitalizations are up, and coronavirus levels are “high” in the sewershed of San José and Palo Alto. Current viral levels in wastewater are now similar to the levels seen in the summer of 2023, but haven’t reached last summer’s peak. COVID hospitalization rates also remain lower than recent summer seasons, public health officials said.
The updated 2025-26 version of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be available within a few days at some of the nation’s pharmacy retailers, such as Walgreens and CVS. But some people are expressing frustration at new rules issued by the Trump administration that in effect require younger, healthy people under age 65 who don’t say they have an underlying health condition to consult with a healthcare provider to get a COVID vaccination in the fall.
“Vaccination remains one of the most effective ways to prevent severe disease and death from COVID-19,” Sisson said.
The requirement came under criticism by Dr. Jerome Adams, a former surgeon general who served under the first Trump administration. In posts on social media, Adams said requiring people to consult with a healthcare provider before getting a COVID vaccine puts up “real access barriers.”
“Even if you have insurance and can get in to see a doctor (which is no small feat in the U.S.), many doctors are going to be reticent to prescribe a medication ‘off label,’ given the (in many cases unfounded) recent rhetoric from HHS leaders,” Adams wrote, referring to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is led by the vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who has a history of disparaging vaccines, has said he wants more studies on the COVID-19 shots. Other health experts have said seeking additional testing for COVID vaccines is unnecessary, given the extensive testing done before they were first distributed, and their track record since.
“The bottom line? It is both statistically (according to HHS’s own data) and pragmatically untrue that ‘100% of those who choose a Covid vaccine can get one.’ Continuing to repeat this reflects a lack of knowledge, empathy, or honesty,” Adams wrote.
Source link
