SOME BEACHES, PARKS AND TRAILS SHUT DOWN AS CROWDS DEFY ORDERS, 205 LOCAL COVID-19 CASES CONFIRMED

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By Miriam Raftery

March 22, 2020 (San Diego) – This weekend, crowds of mostly young people defied orders by the Governor and San Diego County banning groups of 10 or more and requiring social distancing of six feet.  As a result, police shut down parking lots at city beaches, some parks were ordered closed, and Cleveland National Forest closed down trails to Cedar Creek and Three Sisters Falls in East County.

Tonight County health officials announce that 205 people in San Diego County have tested positive for COVID-19, including 178 county residents and 16 non-residents. The first death of a San Diego resident from the new coronavirus occurred after the man, who was in his 70s, traveled to Hawaii and was being treated in Santa Clara County.

Cases have been confirmed in the cities of Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, La Mesa, National City, Oceanside, Poway, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach and Vista, as well as the unincorporated areas of Fallbrook, Lakeside, Ramona and Rancho Santa Fe.

Health official emphasize the urgency of flattening the growth curve of the virus as fears mount that hospitals may soon be overwhelmed with more critically ill patients than respirators. Locally, at least 500 people are on ventilators and the region has only 824, excluding military hospitals. 

Nationwide, 34,717 cases have been confirmed and over 450 people have died. 

Worldwide, over 338,724 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed and 14,687 people have died.  Over 99,000 have recovered, the World Health Organization reported today.   Italy has had the highest number of deaths (5,476) followed by China (3,270),  Spain (1,772) and Iran (1,685).  View by country.

The actual number is likely many times higher, perhaps ten-fold more, health experts estimate.

Now, the ability of more laboratories to perform testing greatly increases the capacity to detect the COVID-19 virus in our region and reduce the time it takes to get test results and act on those results, county officials say. One newly approved test by a local biotech company can produce results in 30 minutes.

But testing is still largely limited to those who are hospitalized with severe symptoms; those with mild to moderate systems are being asked to self-quarantine at home.

Even people with no symptoms could be contagious, since it can take anywhere from a few days to 14 days after exposure for symptoms to appear, but the infected person is still shedding viral material that can infect others.

Below is the latest breakdown by age of the local coronavirus cases:

 

Positive Cases in San Diego County Since February 14, 2020

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Updated March 22, 2020

COVID-19 Case Summary

San Diego County Residents

Federal Quarantine

Non-San Diego County Residents

Total

Total Positives

178

11

16

205

Age Groups

 

 

 

 

0-9 years

0

0

0

0

10-19 years

2

0

1

3

20-29 years

38

0

6

44

30-39 years

49

0

3

52

40-49 years

33

0

2

35

50-59 years

27

0

0

27

60-69 years

10

4

1

15

70-79 years

15

2

3

20

80+ years

3

5

0

8

Age Unknown

1

0

0

1

Gender

 

 

 

 

Female

61

4

6

71

Male

116

7

10

133

Unknown

1

0

0

1

Hospitalized

32

6

3

41

Intensive Care

14

0

1

15

Deaths

1

0

0

1



 


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