San Diego County's COVID-19 case rate (daily new cases per 100,000 people) has risen to 7.4 as reported by the California Department of Public Health on Wednesday.
If sustained into next week, the elevated rate would move the county from its current "Substantial" (red) risk level designation to "Widespread," (purple) triggering the closure of non-essential indoor business operations, including restaurants, gyms, and places of worship.
Schools already operating with in-person instruction would not be affected, but no other schools would be allowed to reopen.
During Wednesday's county briefing, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher explained “In the month of October, our unadjusted case count went from 7 to 7.2 to 7.8. It has now gone to 8.7."
Supervisor Greg Cox, noted that the elevated case rates have a lot to do with people's diminishing patience in dealing with the pandemic, saying "The truth is, that people are tired of this pandemic and unfortunately are letting down their guard, not wearing their masks, not maintaining social distancing, and all the other things we’ve been talking about these past few months."
For now, San Diego stays in the red tier, but as the state's website explains "If a county's adjusted case rate and/or test positivity has fallen within a more restrictive tier for two consecutive weekly periods, the state will review the most recent 10 days of data, and if CDPH determines there are objective signs of improvement the county may remain in the tier. If the county’s most recent 10 days data does not show objective signs of improvement the county must revert to the more restrictive tier. "
The state's system of restricting activity in counties is listed below and more details can be found on the California Department of Public Health website.
Since the outbreak began, San Diego County has reported 58,106 cases of COVID-19 and 904 deaths.
Image: CDPH