Gov. Newsom says COVID-19 positivity rate trending down

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool)

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state’s COVID-19 coronavirus positivity rate has trended down over the last week, a sign that the state pulling back its reopening plans may be working to prevent further spread of the virus.

The state’s seven-day average of daily positive cases fell more than 20 percent from 9,859 cases July 27 to 7,764 Monday, Newsom said. The state’s seven-day test positivity rate has also fallen from around 8 percent a week ago to around 6.1 percent as of Sunday.

Newsom cautioned that increased testing will drive the state’s positivity numbers up and state public health officials will need to see at least two to three more weeks of sustained decreases in positivity before allowing businesses like salons and indoor dining to reopen.

“The seven-day positivity rate … is not where it needs to be, it is still too high,” Newsom said. “But, again, it is good to see this number trending down, not trending up.”

Hospitalizations have fallen about 10 percent statewide over the last two weeks, from 7,091 on July 20 to 6,383 on Sunday, while intensive care unit admissions due to COVID-19 have fallen about 5 percent over the same span of time, from 2,006 on July 20 to 1,909 Sunday.

Newsom reiterated his pleas to residents across the state to continue following state health guidelines by wearing face coverings, maintaining distance from others and minimizing social mixing with people from different households.

“We can quickly find ourselves back to where we were just a few weeks ago, a month ago, with significant increases if we do not maintain our vigilance, we do not maintain our focus and our commitment,” Newsom said. “This virus is not going away.”

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