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SF's 49% surge in hospitalizations puts city on high alert

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateOn a day that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signaled additional restrictions for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, the city of San Francisco announced an alarming rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations that is putting new strain on an anxious health care system.Among other major developments Tuesday, the state recorded 7,820 new cases — its second highest tally in a 24-hour period — and surpassed 6,000 deaths from the coronavirus; New York, New Jersey and Connecticut imposed a 14-day quarantine on anyone arriving from California; and the nation’s top infectious disease official warned the U.S. could see 100,000 new cases per day if the current upward trajectory does not change.To date, California has had 231,960 confirmed coronavirus cases. Of those, 25,411 cases, including 578 deaths, have been in the Bay Area. While the state enjoyed early success in “flattening the curve,” recent outbreaks in prisons and nursing homes and an overall relaxing of sheltering restrictions over the last several weeks are now driving a high number of new cases and hospitalizations. The state set the record for the most cases in a day on Monday, with 8,196 cases.The number of Californians hospitalized for the virus spiked 43% over the last two weeks, while the number of patients admitted to intensive care units jumped 37% during the same period.Newsom said he plans to announce new efforts Wednesday to enforce the state’s stay-at-home order and mandate to wear face coverings, but did not specify what those actions would be. He hinted that the changes would impact counties that have moved to resume indoor activities such as shopping and dining.“If you’re not going to stay at home and wear a mask in public, we have to enforce and we will,” he said. “We’ll be making additional announcements on efforts to use the dimmer switch we referenced to and toggle back on our stay-at-home order and tighten things up.”The U.S. has reported 2.6 million cases, including 127,410 deaths, and is showing no signs of a slowdown. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the country could see 100,000 new cases each day if things don’t change. The U.S. is currently seeing about 40,000 new cases each day.The Bay Area, which has generally controlled the spread of the virus better than most other major U.S. metropolitan areas, is reporting new spikes in cases and hospitalizations in several counties.San Francisco saw a 49% spike in hospitalizations over the last week as patients from San Quentin prison and Imperial County were transferred to city hospitals — a dramatic change from previous weeks, when hospitalizations stayed relatively stable or decreased.“We’re on high alert not just as a city but also as a region,” said Dr. Tomas Aragón, health officer for the city and county of San Francisco. “Whatever happens in other places actually impacts us. The San Quentin outbreak is a good example of how it’s impacting our hospital system.”Coronavirus PandemicSan Francisco currently has 64 coronavirus patients, including 13 from San Quentin — where more than 1,000 inmates have tested positive for the virus — and five from Imperial County at the California-Mexico border, which is now experiencing one of the sharpest rises in cases and death rates in the state.However, San Francisco’s hospital capacity, measured by the availability of acute care beds and intensive care beds, is “OK,” Aragón said. The city has 35% of acute care beds available, which is above the 15% target level set by health officials, and 28% of ICU beds are available, which is above the 20% target level.“That’s good news at the moment,” Aragón said.San Francisco also saw a sharp rise in new infections over the last week, bringing the total to 3,603 confirmed cases. There were 5.8 new daily cases per 100,000 residents over the past week — above the city’s goal of less than 1.8 cases per 100,000 residents, which it has not achieved since the outbreak began.“This recent increase is very concerning to us,” Aragón said. “We don’t know whether this is going to be a one-time blip or whether this is the tip of the iceberg and we’re going to have rapid increase in cases and hospitalizations. It’s too soon to tell, so we’re going to be monitoring closely this coming week.”In the Bay Area, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties are pausing plans to reopen businesses and other public spaces until the spread of the virus is brought back under control. San Francisco does not plan to reopen any additional businesses until at least through the weekend.“The next several days are going to be really critical,” Aragón said.San Mateo County reported 71 new cases Tuesday, one of the largest single-day increases in the county, which now has a total 3,232 cases and 108 deaths.Santa Clara County reported 116 new cases Tuesday, bringing the total to 4,370 cases. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients increased nearly 52% in the last week, with 15 additional people hospitalized in the last day.Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.State health officials are likely to begin more closely monitoring four additional counties with outbreaks that are growing at a concerning pace, Newsom said. The state watch list already — including Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Solano counties — that encompass nearly three-quarters of the state population.Over the weekend, Newsom ordered seven counties on the list to , and recommended eight others do the same.But he said Tuesday that a survey of public health officials identified their top concern as intimate gatherings of extended and immediate family members. Acknowledging that family gatherings are a tradition for the Fourth of July weekend, Newsom said his administration would offer “more aggressive” guidelines this week about celebrations.“One of the areas of biggest concern as it relates to the spread of COVID in the state remains family gatherings, not just bars, streets where people are protesting,” Newsom said. “It’s specifically family gatherings where family members or households begin to mix and take down their guard.”Newsom said it is critical to wear face coverings and practice social distancing at these gatherings and in public.“We bent the curve in the state of California once, we will bend the curve again,” Newsom said. “Mark my word. We will crush this pandemic, annihilate it. We’ll get past this, but we’re going to have to be tougher.”San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Roland Li contributed to this report.Catherine Ho and Alexei Koseff are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: and Twitter: @akoseffUpdated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateOn a day that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signaled additional restrictions for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, the city of San Francisco announced an alarming rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations that is putting new strain on an anxious health care system.Among other major developments Tuesday, the state recorded 7,820 new cases — its second highest tally in a 24-hour period — and surpassed 6,000 deaths from the coronavirus; New York, New Jersey and Connecticut imposed a 14-day quarantine on anyone arriving from California; and...

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Health care reporter at @SFChronicle. Currently covering COVID-19 and vaccines.

Catherine Ho

Alexei Koseff

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SF's 49% surge in hospitalizations puts city on high alert

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