SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The daily case rate for COVID-19 in California is officially the highest it has ever been, state health officials reported Friday.
The California Department of Public Health in a daily update recorded the latest seven-day average at 125 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents.
The rate shot past the previous all-pandemic record of 112 per 100,000, set almost exactly one year earlier on Jan. 8, 2021.
California's positivity rate also set another all-time record, climbing to 21.7% from 21.4% on Thursday. Positivity had been 8.1% two weeks earlier, CDPH data show.
State health officials on Friday reported 9,279 patients with COVID-19 in hospital beds on Thursday, the state's most since early February.
Exactly 1,500 were in intensive care units with confirmed COVID-19, the most since late September as the state was rebounding from the delta variant surge.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said this week that California is working with hospital providers to track what proportion of virus-positive patients are being treated specifically for COVID-19, as opposed to being treated for other causes and "incidentally" testing positive upon admission.
The state's mask requirement for indoor public settings will now remain in place through at least Feb. 15.
California has confirmed more than 5.5 million cases and more than 76,000 deaths from COVID-19 over the course of the nearly two-year pandemic.
The omicron variant is "at least 2 to 4 times more transmissible" than the previously dominant delta variant, CDPH officials wrote on the state's COVID-19 website.
CDPH on Thursday released a new, more comprehensive data tracker displaying variant prevalence over time for California. It shows that omicron made up 76% of sequenced cases for the week ending Dec. 26, up from 36% on Dec. 19 and 4% on Dec. 12.
Delta continued to make up roughly one-fifth of samples tested for variants as of late December, according to CDPH.
Whole genome sequencing takes time, and more recent samples are pending testing for variants.
Research from various parts of the world appears to show that omicron sends a lower proportion of infected people to hospitals with severe illness compared to delta. But because it is so wildly infectious, health officials warn it still poses a risk to health care systems.
"What we've seen from other countries, it does seem like people don't get as sick with the omicron variant," Sacramento County health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said on a call with reporters Thursday. "I say that, but also point out that because there's so, so many more people that are getting infected ... there is still a significant risk for people to get severe disease.
"So it is still very important for us all to take this very seriously."
All California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities will suspend in-person visits to inmates, including family members, starting Saturday and lasting at least 15 days.
"This temporary measure is meant to limit movement between and throughout institutions (and) is a necessary step to curb transmissions," CDCR said in a statement.
In a separate order from the state health department, CDPH has instituted strict restrictions on visitations at skilled nursing facilities and other senior care homes. That health order was announced Dec. 31 and took effect Friday.
The full rules are complex, but effectively, anyone seeking to visit a resident at a senior care home will need to be fully vaccinated, have a booster dose if eligible and provide proof of a negative test result within either one day before the visit for rapid antigen tests or two days for PCR tests.
Unvaccinated visitors must conduct their visits outdoors, and also provide a negative test result within those timelines.
There are exceptions for residents who are unable to leave their room or go outside. Unvaccinated visitors or visitors without proof of a negative test may still conduct their visit — however, "these visits cannot take place in common areas, or in the resident's room if the roommate is present," and the visitor must stay physically distanced and wear a well-fitting mask at all times, according to the order.
The order relating to skilled nursing visitations will remain in place through at least Feb. 7.
Active COVID-19 infection numbers in Sacramento school districts continue to surge.
The San Juan Unified School District has 912 students with active infections, an increase of roughly 63% in just the past two days. More than 2,000 students in the district of roughly 50,000 have been exposed to COVID-19.
Elk Grove Unified has 153 active cases among staff and students. And Sacramento City Unified, which earlier this week announced roughly 500 students had tested positive with take-home tests over the winter break, reported 94 active cases in a Friday update.
Earlier in the week, the Sacramento City Teachers Association said 490 certificated teachers were absent Wednesday across the district, with only 345 of those absences filled by substitutes.
It's not just schools being hammered by omicron.
Sacramento Regional Transit is urging bus and light rail riders to check its website for delays or trip cancellations as its drivers and operators call out sick with COVID-19.
Notable restaurants around the capital city have closed their doors temporarily, in at least one case because too many of its employees tested positive to operate. Others have tweaked operations, shutting down indoor dining or pivoting to takeout only.
The University of California, Davis, which in December announced plans to begin the winter 2022 quarter on a remote-learning basis this week only, extended that transition Thursday by an additional three weeks. Chancellor Gary May in a statement said the decision was made "based on what we're seeing with positivity rates related to the omicron variant, as well as staffing and operational concerns."
And to top it off, COVID-19 testing sites are seeing lines and wait times, already bloated from extreme demand amid the surge, exacerbated by short staffing.
"Our staff and their families are being impacted by COVID-19 as well," Sacramento County health program coordinator Liz Gomez said. Thursday. "So when we add staffing, unfortunately, we also have folks that are calling out."
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and several other California lawmakers stayed home from Thursday's session at the Capitol due to potential exposure at a Tuesday going-away party for outgoing Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.
State Sen. Josh Becker tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday morning.
Rendon and Becker are both fully vaccinated and boosted, but the speaker urged anyone present at the party to stay home as a precaution.
Throughout the pandemic, nine of California's 120 state legislators have disclosed positive results for COVID-19.
