County Reports 1,495 New Cases, 7 Deaths, 75 Hospitalized As Delta Variant Surges

San Diego CA

21 August, 2021

10:59 AM

Description

By Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego August 20, 2021 As the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge, San Diego County health officials Friday reported another 1,495 new COVID-19 cases, seven deaths and 75 hospitalizations. Friday's data from the county Health and Human Services Agency increased the total number of people hospitalized with the virus to more than 750. One month ago, that number was 200. Patients in intensive care increased by two to top 145, but that still marked an increase of nearly 100 people since July 19, when 52 people were in ICU beds with COVID-19. Friday's data also raised the county's cumulative infection count to 321,102, while coronavirus-related deaths increased to 3,846. A total of 20,871 tests were reported Friday, and the percentage of new positive cases over the past week was 8.7%. San Diego County's case rate per 100,000 residents is 28.7 for the general population, but that can be parsed further to just 6 for fully vaccinated residents and 55.7 for those not fully vaccinated, data shows. That figure has multiplied more than tenfold since as recently as July 7, when the average daily case rate was just 2.7 per 100,000. Officials expect the number of reported cases to keep increasing as more schools and businesses are requiring COVID testing. City News Service contributed to this report. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.