Trend in new COVID cases. Courtesy San Diego County HHSA
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency reported 12,838 new cases of coronavirus over the past seven days, but the daily rate is beginning to trend down.
Data released Monday shows new daily cases peaking on July 13 at 2,254 and trending down to 1,188 on July 17.
But officials caution that the number of cases is likely under-reported because of the prevalence of home testing.
There have been seven more deaths in the county from COVID-19 since July 13 for a total of 5,377 since the pandemic began,
The county is currently in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s “high” risk category, and San Diego Unified has mandated the wearing of masks indoors during the remainder of summer school.
“San Diegans should take every precaution necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said 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.