November 23, 2024
This summer’s stubborn COVID-19 wave continues

This summer’s stubborn COVID-19 wave continues

For most of the summer, COVID levels in California and the San Francisco Bay Area were high.

The test positivity rate reached 14.3%, an increase of more than 2 percentage points from the previous week, according to Friday’s update from the California Department of Public Health. That’s the highest positivity rate in a year.

After increasing for three months, the positivity rate is quickly approaching the record positivity rate for a summer surge — 16% in July 2022.

Although testing data is no longer available locally, Santa Clara County wastewater shows that the virus has been spreading at high levels for several weeks. All four sewer basins — Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Gilroy — have “high” concentrations.

In Contra Costa County, wastewater also has high concentrations of the virus, and the county’s public health department this week urged residents to wear masks in crowded indoor settings, “especially for those at high risk of severe illness if infected.”

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