California’s death toll from COVID-19 continued to rise Sunday as the number of confirmed cases in the state approached 110,000.
According to data compiled by this new organization, California had 109,865 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,143 deaths as of Sunday. That’s about 274 cases and 10.3 deaths per 100,000 residents.
The state now has a seven-day average of 2,313 new daily cases — the highest daily average since the start of the pandemic — and 59.6 new daily deaths. New deaths have been slowly declining over the past week after averaging more than 70 new daily fatalities for most of May.
But while two-and-a-half months ago it was nearly impossible to tell exactly where people were getting infected with the deadly virus, it is becoming more clear that longterm care homes for the elderly, jails and prisons, food processing plants and social gatherings are the main culprit for repeated outbreaks among Californians.
A Bay Area News Group review of known major outbreaks clusters in the state shows they account for a significant share of the state’s more than 100,000 cases, including an outbreak of more than 1,100 at a federal prison in Santa Barbara County and the more than 17,000 residents and workers infected at skilled-nursing facilities.
Health care workers are also overwhelmingly putting themselves at risk of contracting the virus, including Tom Sugarman, who sat down with The Mercury News to talk about his trip to hard-hit New York City during the height of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, several more companies are the latest to be jolted by coronavirus-linked layoffs and furloughs happening all across the Bay Area. Already nearly a quarter of the state is without work after more than 4.7 million people filed for unemployment benefits on Thursday. With a civilian labor force of about 19.2 million people, the estimated unemployment rate could reach 25 percent soon.
Uber Technologies, Outback Steakhouse, Kohl’s Department Stores, the Earthquakes Soccer Club, Live Nation, several car dealerships, food services firms, and Blackhawk Country Club all announced significant staffing cutbacks this week.
Layoffs in the Bay Area that have been officially reported to the state are now nearly 45,000 for May, this news organization’s review of state Employment Development Department records shows.
