Doctors intubate a coronavirus patient in the COVID-19 ICU of a California hoispital. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
The number of people hospitalized with a coronavirus infection in San Diego County increased by five to 422, according to the latest state data released Saturday.
ICU patients with COVID were up two from the previous day’s total to 47.
The rising hospitalizations come as the county entered the “high” risk category for COVID infections on Thursday. The county’s hospitalization rate of 11.5 per 100,000 residents exceeded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s threshold of 10 per 100,000 for “high” virus activity.
San Diego had been in the “medium” category since the end of May, but the new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have caused recent spikes in hospitalizations and new cases.
“San Diegans should take every precaution necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s deputy public health officer.
“Most San Diegans have been vaccinated, but with this virus, and with the prevalence and infectivity of the new variants, a booster is highly recommended, especially for people who are immunocompromised or have other comorbidities,”he said.
City News Service contributed to this article.
“Most San Diegans have been vaccinated, but with this virus, and with the prevalence and infectivity of the new variants, a booster is highly recommended, especially for people who are immunocompromised or have other comorbidities.”