Tracking the coronavirus in California
Updated
The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly across California. Experts say the true number of people infected is unknown and likely much higher than official tallies.
To better understand the spread of the virus, The Times is conducting an independent, continual survey of dozens of local health agencies across the state. So far today, 44 of the 61 agencies have reported new numbers.
What we know
- New cases are surging. Case counts have begun to rapidly increase. Over the last seven days, the state averaged 7,358 cases per day, with 4.4% of tests coming back positive. Officials warn things could get worse.
- Death tallies are expected grow. The state has averaged 39.7 daily deaths over the last week. When case counts increase, the death toll typically rises soon after.
- The state has eased the lockdown. The governor now rates 12 counties as too risky to reopen, including Los Angeles County. With cases rising, stricter rules may return in some areas.
- Disparities in age and race persist. Roughly 74% of the dead were 65 or older. After adjusting for population, Latinos are now 3.1 times more likely than whites to test positive.
- Alameda
- Alpine
- Amador
- Butte
- Calaveras
- Colusa
- Contra Costa
- Del Norte
- El Dorado
- Fresno
- Glenn
- Humboldt
- Imperial
- Inyo
- Kern
- Kings
- Lake
- Lassen
- Los Angeles
- Madera
- Marin
- Mariposa
- Mendocino
- Merced
- Modoc
- Mono
- Monterey
- Napa
- Nevada
- Orange
- Placer
- Plumas
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- San Benito
- San Bernardino
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Joaquin
- San Luis Obispo
- San Mateo
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Clara
- Santa Cruz
- Shasta
- Sierra
- Siskiyou
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Stanislaus
- Sutter
- Tehama
- Trinity
- Tulare
- Tuolumne
- Ventura
- Yolo
- Yuba
- Housing homeless people
- Nursing homes
- State prisons
- Following the curve
- Unemployment and economic fallout
- Which counties are open
- Which beaches are closed
- Lives lost
- Frequently asked questions
The latest totals
Coronavirus can infect people so rapidly that it has continued to spread despite shutdown orders aimed at slowing the growth of new cases and flattening the line below.
The number of cases in California is now on pace to double every 86.6 days, a number used to measure how quickly the virus is spreading.
Local governments announce new cases and deaths each day, though bottlenecks in bureaucracy can introduce delays. For instance, some agencies do not report new totals on holidays and weekends, leading to lower numbers on those days.
Over the past week, the state has averaged 7,358 new cases and 39.7 new deaths per day.
The charts here will update when today's Times survey of the state's 61 health agencies is complete.
Where new cases are concentrated
State officials study the latest data and then rate counties to determine when and how businesses reopen. After adjusting for population, the virus is now categorized as widespread in 12 counties, keeping those areas largely locked down. Together they are home to 54% of California residents.
The government doesn't release enough data to replicate its analysis, but the rate of new cases over the last seven days provides some insight into where the virus is spreading.
What's open where?
See how the governor has rated all 58 counties, and what that means for reopening, in our county reopening tracker.
Mapping the toll
The coronavirus has been found in all 58 counties, from urban Southern California to the state's rural north.
Residents of cities, neighborhoods and regions all across the state have contracted the coronavirus. Here are the latest tallies for 1,145 places as released by county health departments.
Confirmed cases
County
cases
Hospitals and patients
Lockdown measures aim to slow the virus in hope of preventing hospitals from being overrun. To keep tabs on capacity, officials watch out for rapid increases in the number of patients.
There are now 3,531 hospital patients statewide with a confirmed case, a change of 40% from two weeks ago.
Officials also closely monitor the number of beds open in intensive-care units. In late July, the state changed its tracking method to exclude beds that are only for infants from the count.
Testing
After a fitful start, California has increased coronavirus testing in the state. Over the last week, an average of 154,593 tests have been conducted each day.
In the last seven days, about 4.4% of the 1,082,151 tests conducted have returned a positive result.
Wide disparities in age and race
While younger adults make up the majority of positive tests, deaths due to the virus have skewed heavily toward the elderly.
The state has logged the race of the patient in nearly two-thirds of cases.
Latinos and Black people have contracted the virus at a higher rate than white and Asian people. After adjusting for population, Latinos are now 3.1 times more likely to test positive than white people.
California Department of Public Health
One outcome is that among most age groups, and especially younger people, Black people and Latinos are dying more often than other races relative to their share of the population.
Lives lost to COVID-19
Learn more about those we've lost by reading Times obituaries of Californians who have died from coronavirus.
Nursing homes
Nursing homes are a tragic focal point of the outbreak. Residents and staff have accounted for 6% the state's coronavirus cases, but 34% of its deaths.
Track outbreaks in California nursing homes
Follow the data and look up the latest tallies at the hundreds of skilled-nursing and assisted-living facilities across the state.
California in context
To date, the United States has recorded 10,732,019 coronavirus cases and 244,221 deaths. In the last week, the country has averaged 139,999 new cases and 1,047 deaths per day.
While California — America’s most populous state — has one the nation’s top case counts, it ranks much lower after adjusting for population. Home to 12% of the country's population, thus far it has accounted for roughly 10% of cases.
The same is true for deaths. So far, California has accounted for 7% of deaths nationwide. It still trails far behind New York, where deaths surged in the early days of the pandemic.