Sharp rise in COVID cases after Thanksgiving holiday

The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency reports a spike in new cases of COVID-19. The 5,649 lab-confirmed cases reported this week represent an increase of more than 63% from the previous week, when 3,455 new infections were reported.

While flu cases are down slightly from last week, sewage data shows a continuing upward trend. The county is reporting 2,583 new lab-confirmed flu cases this week. Last week, 2,721 cases were reported. By this time last year, 539 flu cases had been reported for the entire season so far.

“Holiday gatherings, especially indoors, can increase the spread of respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and influenza as we see after the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Cameron Kaiser, MD, MPH, deputy officer. County Public Health. “Residents of San Diego County know how to keep their loved ones safe when they gather for celebrations, as they have in the past. Masking, home testing and vaccinations can help keep you and your families from going this holiday season sick or worse.

The COVID-19 bivalent booster and influenza vaccinations are separate shots that are both effective in reducing the risk of catching the targeted viruses, being hospitalized or dying. County officials are urging all eligible residents to get both. Wearing a mask if possible, especially during public gatherings indoors, will help protect you and those around you.

In addition to vaccination and masking, there are a number of other precautions San Diegans can take to protect themselves against COVID-19, as well as seasonal illnesses like the flu. These measures include:

• Wash hands thoroughly and often;
• Stay away from sick people;
• Stay at home and avoid contact with others when sick;
• Home testing in case of exposure or illness;
• Regularly clean frequently touched surfaces.

“These measures will help protect our critical hospital capacity and your loved ones,” Kaiser said. “I also want to remind everyone that it’s never too late to get your flu shot or a bivalent COVID booster.”

COVID-19 Vaccination Progress:

• Nearly 2.69 million or 80.4% of San Diegans have received the primary series of one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines.
• Bivalent boosters administered: 449,633 or 18% of the 2,493,367 eligible San Diegans.
• More information on vaccination can be found at coronavirus-sd.com/vaccine.

Deaths from covid19:

• 15 additional deaths have been reported since the last report on December 1, 2022. The region’s total is 5,584.
• Of the 15 additional deaths, seven were female and eight were male. They died between March 1, 2022 and November 29, 2022. Five of the newly reported deaths occurred within the past two weeks.
• Ten of those who died were 80 or older, four were 70 and one was 60.
• 12 of these people had been vaccinated and three had not received any vaccine against COVID-19.
• All had underlying medical conditions.

COVID-19 cases, case rates and tests:

• 5,649 cases of COVID-19 have been reported to the county in the past seven days (November 29 to December 5, 2022). The region total is now 947,909.
• The 5,649 cases reported last week were higher than the 3,455 infections identified the previous week (November 22 to November 28, 2022).
• 6,329 tests were reported to the county on December 3 and the percentage of new positive cases was 12% (data through December 3).
• The rolling 14-day percentage of positive cases, among tests reported through December 3, is 9.4%.

Influenza activity

The County Health and Human Services Agency now publishes the Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report weekly. The report is released every Thursday and tracks key respiratory disease indicators, including flu cases and deaths.

For the week ending December 3, 2022, the report shows the following:

• Five additional deaths from influenza; the season total is now 13.
• Three of the additional flu deaths were female and two were male. They died between November 24, 2022 and November 29, 2022.
• Two of them had received a flu shot this season and three had not.
• All had underlying medical conditions and none of the newly reported deaths were co-infected with COVID-19.
• Emergency room visits for flu-like illness: 10% of all visits (compared to 11% the previous week).
• Laboratory-confirmed influenza cases for the week: 2,583 (compared to 2,721 the previous week).
• Total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to date: 15,560 (compared to 539 at the same time last season and a 5-year average of 611 in the same week).

More information:

Data updates on the County coronavirus-sd.com website will be published on Thursday around 5 p.m., except public holidays. More flu information is available on the county’s website. flu website.