County's COVID Hospitalizations Surpass 400 As 5,611 New Cases Reported Over Past Three Days

San Diego CA

28 December, 2021

11:42 AM

Description

By Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego December 27, 2021 San Diego County's number of coronavirus cases surged over the weekend, officials said Monday, while the number of county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 surpassed 400. Local health officials reported 1,678 new cases as of Friday, 1,252 Saturday and 2,681 Sunday. The county also reported three additional fatalities linked to COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing its cumulative totals to 414,057 infections and 4,445 deaths since the pandemic began. The county Health and Human Services Agency does not report COVID data on weekends or holidays, so no updates were provided Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The county's COVID hospitalizations increased from 355 Sunday to 404, while the number of those patients in intensive care increased from 92 to 95, according to the latest state figures. A total of 7,227 tests were reported in San Diego County over the weekend, and the seven-day average positivity rate was 11.3%, up from 7.4% as of Thursday. Meanwhile, although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency use authorizations for two new oral antiviral medications to treat COVID, supplies of these medications "will initially be very limited and San Diegans should continue to mask up this holiday season to prevent infection," a statement from the county health agency said last week. The county expects its first shipment of Pfizer's Paxlovid any day now. A second oral antiviral, Merck's molnupiravir, is expected to start arriving in the region soon afterward, according to the HHSA. City News Service contributed to this article. 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.