With the number of coronavirus-positive hospital patients at all-time highs, and medical facilities overflowing Wednesday (December 30), the state announced a benchmark counties must meet to resume in-person learning in schools. State data show there are 1,770 COVID-19 patients in San Bernardino County hospital beds as of Tuesday, up 8.3 percent from a week earlier. County data updated Monday show 53.1 percent of occupied beds are filled with positive patients. To reopen schools, counties must have a seven-day average of fewer than 28 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents. As of Tuesday, San Bernardino County had 165.5 cases per 100,000 residents, almost six times the goal. All school districts in the county, with the exception of one very small one, are at the highest “widespread” risk tier with more than seven daily new cases in their boundaries. Most districts have hundreds or thousands of new cases.
Here are the latest San Bernardino County numbers, according to public health officials:
Confirmed cases: 193,214 total, up 2,127 from Tuesday, averaging 3,190 reported per day in the past week
Deaths: 1,442 total, up four from Tuesday, averaging 5.0 reported per day in the past week
Hospital survey: 1,770 confirmed and 88 suspected patients hospitalized Tuesday, including 345 confirmed and 7 suspected patients in the ICU, with 24 of 25 facilities reporting. The number of confirmed patients is up 8.3 percent from a week earlier.
People tested: 1,644,695 total, up 8,173 from Tuesday, averaging 16,823 reported per day in the past week
Resolved cases (estimate): 170,000 total, no change from Tuesday, averaging 3,882 per day in the past week
Metrics tracked by the state:
ICU availability: 0.0 percent across Southern California
New cases per day per 100,000 residents: 165.5
Case rate adjusted for testing volume: 82.8
Test positivity rate: 23.0 percent (26.8 percent in socioeconomically challenged neighborhoods)
What that means: Southern California is under a stay-home order because of the low ICU availability. When that is lifted, San Bernardino County will return to a color-coded tier with restrictions based on the other metrics.
