Although some hope the worst of California’s coronavirus crisis has passed, there are signs the pandemic in the Golden State has merely stabilized, and the worst may be yet to come.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in California has hit a stubborn plateau, and the number of cases has not begun a sustained week-over-week decline, a Los Angeles Times analysis has found. For the seven-day period that ended Sunday, 503 people in California died from the virus — the second-highest weekly death toll in the course of the pandemic and a 1.6% increase from the previous week.

In fact, the latest tally shows that the death toll has continued to average about 500 fatalities each week over the past month. The week before last, there were 495 deaths. Prior to that, there were 542 fatalities, and the week before that, 497.

Coronavirus cases shot up to a new weekly record last week, with more than 13,000 new infections reported.

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