California deaths high even as virus case rates plummet
LOS ANGELES (AP) - California’s death toll during the coronavirus pandemic has topped 49,000, even as the rates of new infections and hospitalizations continue to plummet across the state.
Health officials said Sunday that the number of patients in California hospitals with COVID-19 has slipped below 7,000, a drop of more than a third over two weeks.
The 6,760 new confirmed cases reported Sunday are more than 85% below the mid-December peak of about 54,000 in one day.
Total cases are approaching 3.45 million. The positivity rate for people being tested has been falling for weeks, which means fewer people will end up in hospitals.