The share of Californians who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week dipped below 3% for the first time, a sign that the Golden State is finally starting to beat back the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Monday.
Just 3.1% of Californians who were tested over the last two weeks received a positive result, and that ratio dropped to 2.8% in the last seven days, state officials said. Hospitals in California are treating the fewest patients with the virus since April, and admissions to the state’s intensive care units have been dropping steadily, too.
It’s a rare piece of good news for 40 million Californians, who are contending with raging wildfires and toxic air quality on top of the economic, physical and emotional effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the good news is tempered with caution: Those fires, coupled with heat waves and toxic air quality, led to a decline in testing. And health officials still aren’t certain if gatherings on Labor Day led to an increase in transmission because the virus can take up to two weeks to incubate.
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